Together Alone
by Death and Berry
Summary: Two months after the Xecution battle, Rukia show up to the Kurosaki residence with a proposition. For his future, Ichigo will go on a mission with Rukia, in New York City, for one month. A lot of things can happen in four weeks... /Ichiruki/
1. Guess who's coming to dinner?

**Hey everyone! This is my second fanfict and I'm planning on doing it long so, I'm sticking with it until the end! (Well, I'm gonna try hard… x]) Story rated M for language, just in case ;) There will not be lemons in this fanfict, well not _complete_ ones at least. **

**The story takes place in the beginning of July (around two months after the fullbringer thing of Our Xecution) **

**This fanfict. Is purely and mainly Ichiruki, and a bit of Hitsukarin :3**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or the characters. Tite Kubo does.**

**Here you go! Hope you enjoy the first chapter!**

Together Alone

Chapter 1: Guess who's coming to dinner?

"Dad would you just calm down? It's not like it's the first time she's coming here!"

Ichigo Kurosaki was now terribly annoyed: his father was even more excited than usual. The old man had made a giant dinner, with the help of Yuzu, of course. He had made everyone dressed up nicely, except for Karin who just kicked him in the face, and Ichigo who didn't want to look like an idiot.

His father and his now grown up little sister had put their most beautiful dinner set. The table seemed to be dressed for a royal meal. With Yuzu in her pink dress, Isshin in his black tuxedo and the dinner room's decoration it was almost as if the Kurosaki family was expecting the Queen tonight.

But no. No Queen. This entire masquerade was for one and only person. A little black-haired midget who cared only for beating Ichigo, and of course, for her stupid rabbit: Chappy.

In fact, the Kurosaki residence had receive a message from a hell butterfly last week, telling them that the Kuchiki princess was coming for dinner next Thursday night. Obviously, Isshin had gone crazy while Ichigo didn't really know what to think of it.

He hasn't seen her since the Fullbringer tragedy. The little shinigami has showed herself just in time, giving Ichigo back his strength and powers. The orange-haired boy had succeeded over Ginjou and their right memories were given back to his family and friends. Everything was back to normal, and Ichigo finally felt alive again.

But of course, Rukia and everyone had to go back to Soul Society. Ichigo knew he would see her again, but it just beat the hell out of him when he saw her leaving. They only had said their usual: "It's been a long time" and then "See you soon". Ichigo just didn't want to admit to himself or to anybody that he was missing her more than anything or anyone else in the world.

So when, two months later, Ichigo received a hell butterfly from the head captain Yamamoto saying that the 13th division lieutenant Kuchiki Rukia was coming to dinner, he didn't know what to think.

Sure, he was happy to hear that Rukia was coming, extremely happy. But something inside him just felt wrong. Maybe he secretly wanted her to visit him on her own, without having to wait for a business matter. It just seemed like she was only coming to him in the name of Soul Society, and it made Ichigo sick. Sometimes he wished Rukia didn't have to fallow their stupid orders… Because of that, he had the chance to saw her one time in 17 months, and again, they were in the middle of an important battle.

He wanted her to be with him normally. Just like they use to hang out. But they couldn't do that anymore. Her place was in Soul Society and his was here. Well for now… He wasn't even sure.

However, it just seemed like Rukia Kuchiki's duties were more important than Ichigo himself. Hell, why would he even be more important to her? He was her friend sure, but so as Renji. Ichigo only hoped he wasn't the only one feeling the deep bond Rukia and him shared. He was sad just thinking of the idea of Rukia not caring about him anymore… No, he had to believe. He just knew he had to.

Maybe she was his best friend. Yeah, Ichigo did consider her as his best friend. It's just difficult to keep hope when the other does not visit for more than a year. And that when she finally comes back, it isn't even her choice, her own desire…

And the next thing you know, she's gone before you got the time to say a real goodbye.

Ichigo let a deep sigh, filled with sadness. He didn't know how he felt anymore. He wasn't getting a thing. Except for the loneliness.

He couldn't help but wonder if Rukia was happy. Was she perfectly fine with the life she had in Soul Society? Did she felt complete? Because he did not. But the thought of her, living without needing to see him… It was just too painful. Maybe that's why he kept burying his emotions like that. Without even knowing it, he was stopping his feelings for Rukia. Well, as he knew of in his head. In his heart though, it was growing so much that he couldn't take more. He only felt the sadness of this feeling, not the indescribable joy.

Even so, the girl was still coming to dinner tonight. In 19 minutes more exactly. Ichigo surely was happy to see her again, but surprisingly, he felt nervous.

That was new… Well, towards Rukia's visits at least. With all this emotions he couldn't perceive, Ichigo felt nothing but lost.

"Only fifteen minutes left!" yelled Ichigo's old man, making the boy's heart beat harder and harder in his chest.

Ichigo was sitting on the couch, trying to relax a little. He then took a subtle breath to make sure his father didn't notice he was anxious.

Karin on the other hand, who was sitting across him, saw his reaction and noticed that his usual scowl was replaced by a nervous face.

She smirked at him "So bro, worried about your little woman coming to dinner?"

Ichigo jumped from her playfully question. He fought not to blush and slightly turned his head.

"Che, of course not! I'm just worried about my poor face! She's probably gonna start punching me again that small crazy midget"

Karin smiled mischievously and continued "Ah so you're not happy she's finally coming? I thought you would since I heard you say her name last night when you fell asleep on the couch…"

Ichigo quickly widened his eyes and looked at his manipulative sister "I didn't know you had dreams about her… Was it a romantic dream? Or a perverted dream? Che, at your age, it's probably the second one…"

Ichigo immediately turned red, which was pretty rare. Karin saw that and grinned. The girl was now older, and one of her favourite pastime was to annoy her big brother. Now that he had finally passed his depressive part and gained his shinigamis powers, Karin could really enjoy it.

"What? Tha-That's crap! I don't have dreams about her!" Ichigo yelled back at his sister

Seeing her grin made him even madder so he decided to play the game too.

"Besides, I'm not the one having dreams about a certain white-haired captain…" added Ichigo, smirking too when Karin laughing face turned red. Ichigo then took a pitched female voice too sound like his sister "Oh Tôshirô! I love you too, kiss me please!"

Karin was red with embarrassment but mostly with madness. On a natural reflex, she took the soccer ball in her hands and threw it hard on Ichigo with a gigantic strength. Even so, the orange-haired man stopped it easily, still slightly laughing.

"Shut up carrot top! That's totally _not_ true!" yelled the girl

"Well, you started it!" shot back Ichigo

They were glaring in rage at each other when Isshin suddenly yelled from the kitchen: "Stop it you too! We all know you both love your little shinigamis from Soul Society so be quiet!"

Ichigo and Karin rose at the same time and both protested: "I don't love Rukia!" "I don't love Tôshirô!"

Their father smiled and responded innocently "Who talked about Rukia and Tôshirô?"

The brother and his sister both turned a bit pink and Yuzu started laughing when suddenly the bell rang at the door.

"Oh! Rukia-chan is here!" yelled Isshin, his daughter and him clapping their hands in happiness.

Ichigo felt a sudden twisting sensation in his stomach 'Should I go to the door or just wait here…?' the boy asked himself. 'Ahh! Who cares? It doesn't even matter!'

Ichigo finally decided to wait in the dinning room. He found out that Karin had followed him and was standing before him when he heard the door opening.

"Rukia-chan! Good to see you again! Please come in!" Ichigo heard Yuzu say from the other room.

"Good to see you too, Yuzu and Isshin-san" Rukia responded nicely as she bowed her head.

Ichigo froze right there. Her voice. Her unique voice. It was just so strong, but extremely feminine. It was filled with courage but so delicate at the same time. It was perfect and Ichigo couldn't even understand how much he had missed it.

"Oh please Rukia!" said the doctor, waving his hand "just call me dad!"

Karin sighed in annoyance and walked to the door while Ichigo stood freeze.

"Ah, huh? Why would I call you like that?" asked a lost Rukia.

"Because soon –" Isshin was cut off by the foot of Karin in his face.

"Shut up you crazy father! Just leave her alone!"

Isshin let his fake tears fall on his cheeks and prayed to the sky with his knees on the floor "Oh Masaki! Do all my children hate me?"

Karin growled again then looked over at Rukia "Sorry for him… He's just, well, himself actually."

Rukia blinked a few times at the scene then slightly laughed "It's all right… Oh and good to see you too Karin. You two girls changed a lot since the last time I saw you…" she added, looking at the two twins.

Karin smiled and nodded her head "Yeah… You've changed too"

Rukia returned the smile. It was so good to be here after all this time. She didn't notice during the past two years that she missed this family so much. It was just so… warm. The Kurosaki family had always been nice and welcoming to her… Sure she never really had a real family, maybe that's why she felt a her place here. She was welcomed, and it was more important to her than she would ever admit.

However, something, or _someone_, was missing in this scene.

"Hum, Ichigo isn't here?" asked the short black-haired woman, a bit of worry in her voice.

"Oh yes he is..."said Karin and continued with a smile "He is just too shy to come and welcome you…"

Rukia was about to ask her what she meant when Ichigo irrupted from the kitchen. Her breath got caught in her throat: the boy's hair were even more orange than before, if it was even possible, but with a pinch of chocolate brown, just like his eyes. He seemed older. He wasn't a little 15 year old kid. He had become a man.

"Che, I'm not shy… I was just preparing the table…" said Ichigo, still not looking at Rukia.

Karin decided to leave it there so she closed her eyes and simply responded "Huhum…"

It was silent in the room until Yuzu spoke to her big brother "Ichi-nii! It's rude not to welcome our guests!"

Ichigo scratched the back of his heads, his eyes on the floor. He then decided to take all his courage and look up at Rukia. 'Why am I so nervous anyway? It's only…Rukia…'

But when he saw her, his heart stopped and he couldn't move again. Her hair were still short, but they had grown a little since the last time he saw her. And of course, they had that amazing raven colour. Her large beautiful eyes were staring at him, with their breathtaking dark violet iris. The boy could swear to see sparkles in them.

As for her clothes, Rukia was wearing a beautiful night-blue dress with a V neck and corrugated sleeves, the whole thing adjusted nicely to her small fame. She was…perfect.

Suddenly, a cough was heard in the room, taking Ichigo's eyes away from Rukia's body.

"Ah, hum…" managed Ichigo, scratching his hair nervously "Welcome, Rukia."

He tried to smirk at her like they used to do. Apparently it worked because the atmosphere immediately felt less intense when Rukia returned his smile and responded "Thanks, Ichigo. Or do you prefer strawberry?"

Isshin started to laugh uncontrollably while Ichigo growled. 'Damn midget with her stupid nickname…' But inside, he felt a joy he hadn't feel since…since he couldn't remember.

"That's my third daughter!" yelled Isshin "Always here to tease my idiot of son!"

"Shut up old man" replied Ichigo "So, are we gonna eat or what? I'm starving"

"Oh yes!" exclaimed Yuzu "Please fallow me to your seat Rukia-chan"

They all arrived in the kitchen and Rukia was telling them how beautiful their table set was while Yuzu showed her her seat. The young woman sat on the chair and thanked Yuzu again. Ichigo was about to sit on a chair across Rukia when Isshin suddenly picked it "No! That's my chair"

Ichigo frowned at his dad "_Your_ chair?"

"Yes! Now go and pick another one!"

Ichigo sighed in annoyance "Fine…" But when he was about to sit on the one next to his dad, Yuzu yelled "No! That's my place!"

The boy groaned and went on the third one when Karin sat before him "And that's mine" she said casually.

Ichigo was about to yell when his father pointed the seat across the table, right next to Rukia "You just sit there son!"

He finally sat on the damn free chair, while of course, grumbling something only he can hear.

After Yuzu put the food on the table, everyone started eating and the conversation began.

"So Rukia-chan" started Yuzu "Where did you picked up this wonderful dress?"

"Oh, I don't know exactly… Yoruichi-san gave it to me"

"Oh that's right! You're in your…hum… How do we call it Karin? I don't remember"

"Gigai" answered the black haired twin, no interest at all in the conversation.

"That's it! Your gigai!"

Rukia looked surprised "You…you know about it?"

"Yes, they know. My girls know everything about the shinigamis world now" Isshin proudly told her.

Rukia looked back at the little Yuzu, smiling "Oh really? That's great then"

Yuzu nodded and smiled while Karin just didn't react and kept eating her food.

"I knew Karin knew about it, but not Yuzu…" continued Rukia

That however, got Karin's attention "Mmm, how did you knew I was aware of you world? Ah, it's probably Ichigo. He told you hasn't he?" she left her suspicious eyes and got back to her food, thinking she had found her answer.

But Rukia shook her head "No, it's not Ichigo actually. It's someone else: Hitsugaya Taicho."

Everyone stopped eating "In fact, he has written a letter for you, and he asked me if I could give it to you so, here it is…"

Rukia then took a white letter out of her bag and passed it to Karin. The only thing that was visible on the envelop was a name, written in black ink 'Karin'.

Karin's cheeks turned pink when she noticed that everyone was staring at her. It was totally silent in the room until Isshin suddenly yelled "My girl is all grown up! Oh Masaki, I have two options for grandbabies now!"

He then looked at Karin and switch to Rukia "Rukia darling, I think you better go for it first because Karin is still a bit young so-"

That was enough for Ichigo. He quickly stood up and stopped his father to continue his sentence. He didn't even let himself think about what was about to say the old man.

"Shut up dad! Oh my god, are you _seriously_ crazy? Karin is only fourteen and Rukia…"

He stopped, not knowing where he was going with this. However, his dad smiled brightly.

"Rukia…what? Continue son!"

"Excuse me, but what are you talking about exactly?" suddenly asked Rukia, feeling lost again.

Isshin smiled at her "We're talking about the babies you're gonna have with-"

He was cut off again by a fist in his face. Ichigo was red, partly because of his father's ideas, but also because Rukia was next to him, and that she didn't even seem to realize what was going on.

"Stop it! It's not like that and you know it!"

Isshin looked fake sad and prayed on the table "Oh Masaki! Our son is gay!"

Ichigo actually wanted to kill him right now "What?" he loudly screamed "I'm not gay!"

"Oh yeah, then prove it!" provoked Isshin

Ichigo widened "Wha-? I'm not gonna-"

Their fight was stopped by a slight laugh, coming from a little black-haired woman. The men both looked at her and Ichigo immediately calmed down. Her laugh wasn't fake or demonic like it was when she used to tease him. It was pure. It was magical. Her eyes were closed and her hand was delicately on her mouth. She was really laughing…and it was, _she_ was….so cute.

"Why are you laughing?" asked a surprised Ichigo

She opened her eyes and looked at him softly "Oh sorry, it's just that…I think I forgot how it was..." she looked down for a second, searching the good words to express herself "…_happy_, here…" she finally admit with a warm smile.

She could have calm down anyone with this face… It was impossible to resist. So, soon, both Ichigo and Isshin were smiling, and calm was back in the room.

"Wow Rukia" Yuzu spoke "You made Ichi-nii calm down... I guess you really have powers."

They both smirked but Ichigo let his eyes off Rukia and got back his usual scowl.

They all continued eating when Yuzu let her thought get out from her mouth "I can't believe Karin-chan has a boyfriend…" she said with a smile.

The black haired twin suddenly let her eyes off the letter then looked at her sister and responded "He's not my boyfriend! I've already told you!" She thought for a few seconds then continued silently "We're…friends…that's it."

Rukia saw what others did not see in Karin's eyes. The girl was trying to convince herself. Convince herself that yes, she cared for the 10th squad captain, but only as a friend.

Rukia closed her eyes and sighed. She knew too well that feeling. She was familiar with it, even if she didn't want to think about it too much. She wouldn't let herself go through that yet.

Rukia was surprised to feel a sudden new respect for Ichigo's little sister.

"I'll read that stuff later" finally declared Karin, her hard face back.

She started to eat again, and everyone did the same, deciding to leave her alone.

Everyone was finishing their desert, in an almost abnormal silence. Ichigo hated it. He knew Rukia had something on her mind and that she didn't know how to say it.

This whole visit thing with the supper and all… It just didn't feel…natural.

"Okay" suddenly said Ichigo when everyone was finished "That's it Rukia. Why are you here exactly?"

They all stood quiet. Ichigo and Rukia were intensely looking at each other when the girl closed her eyes and sighed. She then opened them and finally talked.

"I'm here in the name of the captain commander Yamamoto"

"Why did he send you specially?" asked Karin

"Because-" started Rukia "Because she's the one who knows me better, right?" Ichigo cut Rukia.

"Yes" said the girl shinigamis with angry eyes "but also because I'm part of this too"

"This?" asked Ichigo "What _is_ this? What's going on Rukia?"

The girl looked at him "_This_ is a mission. A mission from the captain commander"

Ichigo surely didn't except this. "A mission? What does that have to do with me?"

Rukia made her annoyed face "I'm getting there, be patient."

Both Isshin and Ichigo nodded and Rukia continued. "The captain of the 1st division Yamamoto is considering a possible career for you in Soul Society"

"Wait- What?" Ichigo couldn't believe what had said Rukia.

"Since you finished your years at school here in Karakura and that you will turn eighteen soon, the captain Yamamoto is proposing you a place in Soul Society. An option for the future, if you prefer."

Since nobody was talking and Ichigo seemed freeze, Rukia continued "The Soul Society had already contacted with Isshin-san, and we are aware of the fact that you don't know what to study in university. Since you seemed a bit lost with your future, the captain commander and your father had decided to let you another option: a life in Soul Society."

Ichigo gazed at his dad "You, you knew about this?" he asked the old man. Somehow he felt a bit…betrayed.

"Yes… This is for your future Ichigo. You think I didn't notice how you avoid everything about university? You are afraid to start a career, a life, here" explained his father with an incredibly serious face.

Ichigo was now terribly lost. "But, but I-"

"You don't have to decide now Ichigo" suddenly said Rukia "However, you have to know that, even if you do want to join the Gotei 13, you will have to prove yourself."

"Prove…myself? You're kidding me right?" Ichigo fake laughed "I saved Soul Society I don't know how many times!"

"I know it Ichigo!" Rukia almost yelled "But it is not me who decide rather or not you earn your place in Soul Society. It's not even the captain commander." When Ichigo gave her a look full of questions, she continued "It's the royalty. The division zero."

Ichigo took a deep breath and waited a few moments to analyze all this information. He could have a life there, if he wanted. He could see Rukia everyday! He could…

Ichigo closed his eyes. This will mean leaving his family, but that was already gonna happen if he needed to go to the university. Plus, Ichigo didn't want to admit it, but lately he didn't even feel at his place here, in the world of the living. Maybe he _would_ be happier in Soul Society… But then again, the royalty said he needed to prove himself. What did that mean, exactly?

"_If_ I accept" started Ichigo "What will I have to do to 'prove myself'?"

Rukia let a small sigh of relieve 'He didn't pushed the option away, he is actually considering it!' she thought happily.

"That's where I came in…" responded the girl "Lately, we have been detecting suspicious death, in another city of the world of the living: New York City, in America."

Ichigo nodded so she could continue. "The thing is that people with high reiatsu have been located there. People with a reiatsu as high as here, in Karakura. We don't know how they got there, or why did they started to appear, but since last month, ten of these person had been killed."

"What? Ten persons with high reiatsu?" asked a popeyed Ichigo. Rukia nodded. "But how? It's certainly not a coincidence. It has to be a murderer."

"Of course it's not a coincidence, but Soul Society had not discovered anything or anyone who could have killed them. We can't protect these people from the Seireitei, we have to go there, in person, and stop this chain before more victims are killed" she took a small pause and continued

"A list had been made with the name of people with abnormally high reiatsu in New York City, and a mission has been planed."

When she saw everyone listening carefully to her, Rukia finally said "This mission has been assigned to me, the 13th division's lieutenant, and you Ichigo, if you accept the proposition of starting a career in Soul Society. If we succeed, it will be the proof that you deserve your place in the Seireitei."

"Okay but wait a second" suddenly interrupt Ichigo "If I want to live in the Seireitei, I have to go on this mission with you?" Rukia nodded. "But what is the goal? What exactly is the deal here?"

"The details of the situation will be revealed to you if you accept." responded Rukia

Ichigo growled but continued his questions "But I don't get it. Why does the royalty want me to work in the Seireitei?"

Rukia was silent for a few seconds, before she turned to face Ichigo. "They want you to take a place as a captain"

Ichigo had a hard time to breathe. Him, a captain? It doesn't make sense…

"I thought all the places were taken, Shinji, Kensei and an other Vizard had taken their old seat in the division 3, 5 and 9…"

"That's the thing. The Soul Society wants to be stronger, in case of a danger to face up again. They want to be more powerful to take down any enemy that could destroy the Seireitei."

"I don't understand Rukia… What does it means _exactly_?"

With a serious face, Rukia looked in Ichigo's eyes and finally said "It means that the Soul Society is planning to create a 14th division. A _strong_ division, with a _strong_ captain. If you succeed our mission, they want you to be the captain, Ichigo."

**So, what do you think so far? This is just the first chapter, I promise it will get more interesting and romantic with time :)**

**Oh and sorry if there are some typos' in there… I'm re-reading again and again but only see them once it's published :P**

**Please Review! |Death and Berry|**


	2. Thinking Through

**Hello guys! Here is the second chapter, like the title says, not much happen, it's more of thinking. Oh and sorry again if there are some grammar mistakes.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or the characters. Tite Kubo does.**

**Enjoy!**

Together Alone

Chapter 2: Thinking through

"_It means that the Soul Society is planning to create a 14th division. A strong division, with a strong captain. If you succeed our mission, they want you to be the captain, Ichigo."_

Ichigo widened his eyes, staring at Rukia. He couldn't believe what had said his friend just now. The Soul Society wanted to create a 14th division? And they were planning on taking him to fill the place of captain? It was… unbelievable. They actually wanted a 17 year old boy from the world of the living to command a squad? How was that even considerable? Sure Ichigo had help and save the Seireitei plenty of times, but he had also broken their rules god knows how many times…

It was dead silent in the room. Nobody dared to talk after Rukia's words. All were staring at Ichigo, except Karin who was intensely gazing the table.

"I...I just…I don't know what to say…" almost whispered Ichigo "This is just a lot to take…"

"Like I said before Ichigo, you don't have to decide right now… Yamamoto Taicho gave me until tomorrow night to report your answer. If you refuse, I will go back to Soul Society and someone else will be assigned with me for the mission." Ichigo turned to face her "If you accept, we will leave tomorrow directly for New York City."

Ichigo took a deep breath and closed his eyes 'How could they expect me to choose the world where I want to spend the rest of my life, in what, _one_ day?' thought Ichigo.

If he decided to go in Soul Society, he would become a captain… he would train a whole squad and would necessarily have a lot of duties… But he could be a shinigamis all the time. Gaining his money by doing what he really wanted: protect. Plus, Rukia would be there. He wouldn't need to wait pathetically for her visits, he could be with her anytime…

'Yeah and what if she doesn't want to have me there all the time?' Even if it made him so sad that he only wanted to rip his heart out of his chest, Ichigo couldn't help but think about it. About how was feeling Rukia towards him now…

Ichigo couldn't explain the feeling he had towards her, but he knew their bond was… indestructible. And if Rukia had forgotten that, he would do his best to remind her that they were inseparable.

Each day he lived, he missed her a little more, and his feelings were intensifying. He just didn't know how to react with all that was happening inside and around him.

Ichigo rested his forehead in his hands, leaning on the table. Great. Now all this reflections had given him a headache.

On the other hand, he couldn't abandon his family… What would become his little sisters, with a crazy father like Isshin? Of course, Karin was always there to bring their dad back to life when Ichigo couldn't or was tired of it…

It was simple. Ichigo was totally lost. He absolutely had no idea what to do.

"Are you okay Onii-chan?" suddenly asked Yuzu.

The boy looked at his worried little sister and tried to smile "Yeah I'm fine Yuzu… Just a little headache…"

"Go take a pill upstairs Ichigo" said Isshin. He then lost a bit of his serious face "Oh and Rukia-chan, if you're gonna stay in the world of the living until tomorrow, you are obligated to stay here."

Rukia looked at him surprisingly "Are you sure Isshin-san?"

"Of course dear! Although I sold the bed I had for you in the girls' old room and the couch is not very comfortable so, is it okay for you to stay in Ichigo's closet for the night? Just like before? In my memories, you weren't too bad in there…" Isshin winked at Rukia.

"Hum…yes of course. It's perfect, thank you" responded the girl, slightly shy.

"She used to sleep in your closet Ichi-nii?" asked Yuzu to Ichigo with a suspicious look.

"Hum… Yeah, forget it" Ichigo didn't spent more thinking on how his father had found out and he headed upstairs with Karin, Rukia and Isshin while Yuzu started cleaning the dishes.

Once they were upstairs, Karin went directly in her room –the twins had their own room now- and closed the door. 'She probably wants to read her letter now…' thought Ichigo 'I wonder what's written in this thing… Tôshirô better watch out the next time I see him.'

When they reached Ichigo's door, Isshin turned to face Rukia. "Rukia-chan, you can go and grab a pyjama from Yuzu's drawers. There are also pillows and blankets in the bathroom. You can prepare yourself for the night and take a shower if you want" said Isshin, smiling "I'm just gonna have a talk with Ichigo."

Rukia looked quickly over to Ichigo then got back to the older man. She nodded and bowed her head. "All right. Thank you Isshin-san."

The two men Kurosaki watched her leave toward Yuzu's room when Isshin pushed Ichigo in his bedroom and closed the door.

"Sit." He ordered to his son, pointing the bed. Ichigo did as he was told and his father sat next to him, staring at nothing exactly until he let out a sigh.

"Ichigo" he began seriously "Please let me know… How are you feeling about this?"

Ichigo closed his eyes then buried his face in his hands "Honestly dad, I'm lost."

Isshin stopped looking at his first child and closed his eyes too. "You know, even if I pretend to let you be all the time, I'm always checking on you son. You _think_ you feel lost, but I know that deep inside you heart, you already know the answer to your question. Stop lying to who you really are."

Ichigo looked surprisingly at his father, and the old man opened his eyes.

"But…" the boy stopped his sentence and thought for a second "Which one is it then?" he asked his dad.

The doctor smiled at him "I don't need to tell you, you can say it yourself. Don't be afraid of your true feelings Ichigo."

"It's the Soul Society…" whispered Ichigo after a few seconds. Without even realizing it, he had his answer.

Isshin smiled at his boy again and put a hand on his shoulder "You see"

"But I can't just leave you! If I do succeed this mission thing, I will become a captain! That's like abandoning my family! Yuzu and Karin…"

"Ichigo" cut his father "We are perfectly fine here without you. I know it's hard to realize but the girls have grown up a lot. They are very mature and I know they can perfectly take care of themselves. Yuzu is taking care of the house like a mother already and Karin even has a whole life on her own now." He took a little pause and continued "I saw how you suffered during this last two years. You just got back your shinigamis powers and that's great, but killing hollows for the rest of your life, is it really what you want? You need to be a hero Ichigo. You have a big place in the Soul Society's history already and I want that to continue. You don't need to be a doctor or stay here to make me proud son. Facing your own destiny is what will make both you and I happy. Your life is in the Soul Society Ichigo. You _need_ to protect. After all, your mother and I named you that way, didn't we?"

Seeing that Ichigo was staring at him and not saying a word, Isshin continued "There's also something else Ichigo. Those two years weren't just without your powers." You could see shock in Ichigo's eyes when his father finally said "They were also without _her_"

Ichigo's heart started to beat faster. Does his dad know the feeling that was buried in his son's heart? The feeling that he wouldn't let himself accepts or even understands?

"I don't want to irrupt in your personal life, and even if I joke around about it sometimes, we both know you can't be truly happy without her."

Ichigo couldn't look at his father. Thinking about his emotions was…painful. He stared intensely at the ground and took a deep breath before choosing to open up to his old man.

"I…I don't know what it is dad…" whispered Ichigo, still gazing the floor "But of all the monsters and people I've fought, this is the most painful and scary thing I've ever felt in my whole life."

The black-haired man smiled at his boy "I know son. Soon you will be able to understand it, and you will finally accept it. Don't be too hard with yourself…" Isshin got closer and then whispered in Ichigo's ear "She will come to you soon enough"

Although Ichigo didn't really understand the meaning of the words his dad has said, it was able to reassure and help him a little. He felt less lost now.

"So, that's it, I'm accepting the offer…" murmured Ichigo, more like a statement than a question.

"You know that's the right decision. You need to do what you want with your life: be a powerful shinigami and be with the right person. You can say what you want son, but I know you don't even feel like living when she's not around…" said Isshin with a smile.

During the whole conversation, the two men had talked about 'her' or 'she'… They didn't need to say the girl's name. It was obvious. Both knew who they were talking about, it could be one and only person.

Even though Ichigo had confessed a lot during this conversation, he felt like going back to his usual self now. He let his scowl back on his face and answered, grunting "Che, like I could miss her that much"

Hid dad laughed "I see you're back to your usual self: 'I'm not showing my feelings, not even to myself" he teased Ichigo with an imitating guy voice.

Ichigo scowled even more and responded, grinding his teeth "Shut up old man. You think I got that from whom, mister 'I'm pretending to be crazy to not show my true emotions'."

Isshin got up and headed for the door, totally laughing at his son's sense of humor. "I must give you right there"

Ichigo got off the bed too and followed his dad, who had a hand on the doorknob. "Before we go back to Rukia-chan, and before you leave tomorrow, I just want to give you one advice"

Ichigo was surprised and wondered what could be that advice since they just spent at least fifteen minutes talking about it, but he simply nodded his head at his dad.

"Don't lie to yourself Ichigo. Be who you really are and act how you really feel. It works for both your occupation and for…" he stopped and spoke a little less loud, smiling slightly "well, for 'who you know'…" he finished and winked at his son "You'll realize all this someday, don't worry"

Ichigo looked at his feet, than got back to his old man. "Okay… I'll try…I guess" said Ichigo, a bit confused about his own words "I can't believe I'm gonna say this but, thanks dad…"

Isshin smiled one last time to his big boy before opening the door. "No problem son."

In the hallway, against the wall was sitting a young woman, raising her head to look at the two men. She had a pillow, a blanket and a bag in her small arms. When Rukia got up, Ichigo noticed that she was wearing one of Yuzu's pyjamas. She also had a nervous and worried look on her face, although it was obvious that she was trying to hide it.

"Oh Rukia-chan, I see you're all ready to go to bed!" said Isshin. He then looked at his watch on his wrist and yawned "Well it's being late! I'm going to sleep!" He walked towards his bedroom and waived one last time "Goodnight children!"

Ichigo didn't answer but he heard Rukia responded "Goodnight, Mr Kurosaki"

The old man disappeared in his room and both Karin and Yuzu's doors were closed. The girls were probably sleeping too. Ichigo and Rukia looked awkwardly at each other. They hadn't been alone yet so neither of them really knew what to say. What were the right words in this kind of situation?

Ichigo scratched the back of his head. "So, huh… You can…put your stuff in the closet. I'm gonna go take a shower."

Rukia nodded as she watched him leave towards the bathroom.

She sighed and entered Ichigo's room. It has been so long since she last came here… But still it hasn't change at all. She smiled slightly when many memories were brought back by the room's view. Ichigo was doing homework or simply scowling, while she was drawing rabbits… They were simply hanging out like this, perfectly comfortable with the silence between them. 'So much time has passed since then…' thought the black-haired girl with nostalgia.

She finally opened the door of 'her' closet and put the blanket and pillow on the mattress. She then climbed on her little bed and made herself comfortable.

She closed the sliding door so no more light could enter her small world. Trying to relax, she closed her eyes and sighed. But after a few minutes, she gave up: sleep didn't welcome her.

Rukia couldn't help but think of Ichigo. This whole evening, Rukia had acted like she was calm, almost like she didn't care about Ichigo's decision. Only, it was mask. A stupid mask which was one of the hardest things she ever had to do. She was kind of relieved now that she was alone: she could finally allow her feelings to appear on her face.

Deep inside, Rukia was terrified. What if Ichigo didn't want to come to Soul Society? What if he wanted a life here, in the world of the living? What if he hated the Seireitei? What if he didn't want to live with her, in her world? What if…

Rukia sighed, hardly trying to stop her hands and lips from shaking. 'Just calm down, damn it…' she kept telling herself. But there were no miracle here: she couldn't sleep until she has not heard his decision.

She was just so….egoist. She wanted Ichigo to move to Soul Society. Yes, she wanted it so badly. Because she knew, if he didn't come with her, she might never see him again. And this thought was too painful for her.

She had tried to live without him, to let him be and live his human life. But when he got his fullbring powers, all her resolutions got lost in the wind. She saw him again. It was too late; he was back, obsessing her mind. So she tried once more, she tried to hide him in a little place, buried in her head and heart. She was trying to convince herself that it was working, although it absolutely wasn't. She felt bad to abandon him like this again, even if this time, he has his shinigamis powers.

She was hanging on her duties, her lieutenant's post was keeping her a little busy, but it still hasn't erased Ichigo from her life. A few weeks later, that was it. The barrier that was keeping Ichigo as far as it could from Rukia was gone: she was going to see him again. She learned that Ichigo even had the chance to move to Soul Society and be a captain. She could see him every day if he would accept!

She felt bad for Ichigo's family. And for him. What if it wasn't what they wanted for him? What _he_ wanted? Rukia was only thinking about her _own_ desires… After leaving him for almost two years, The Seireitei wanted Ichigo back because he had his powers back. And she was the one responsible of this mission. God she found herself egoist.

Before, only one person was able to hit the sensitive spot in her heart: Kaien-dono. But when he died, under her own hands, Rukia locked her feelings without even realizing it. Nobody could reach her heart anymore. Not even Renji. Until she met a 15 year old punk. His hair was more orange than the sun, and his heart was pure. From that day and probably forever, that boy _is_ her sensitive spot.

Back then, she didn't know that just hanging out with him was making her feel happy, feel alive again. But when she spent 17 months without seeing him, she knew it: Rukia needed Ichigo. Even if she hated to show this weakness, Rukia knew she needed her friend to be truly herself.

Although she wanted him to follow her, Rukia didn't like the choice she was putting him through. After Soul Society- No, after _she_ abandoned him for months, she was asking him to choose his world. And all that in one fucking night?

Rukia grunted silently and tried to make the anger that was growing inside her go away.

Kuchiki Rukia was a good soldier, a respectful noble. God knows why, but when it came to Ichigo, she just hated to follow the orders.

Her thoughts were suddenly stopped when the bedroom's door opened. Rukia could hear Ichigo's footsteps walking inside.

The raven-haired girl was wondering what to do. She could pretend to be asleep and ignored Ichigo, or she could confront him and maybe find an answer to her question.

While she was struggling with herself, she heard a deep sigh from the other side of the closet. She decided in a second and encouraged in her mind 'You can do this Rukia, just confront him once for all. You're a Kuchiki for god's sake!' With one last breath, she opened the closet door slowly and took an eye around the room.

She met the look of an orange-haired man, bare chest, with only a pyjama pants on. They stared at each other for a few seconds. Amber met violet.

"You…You're not sleeping?" suddenly said Ichigo, breaking the silence.

"No, I couldn't…" Rukia responded, blinking her eyes.

"Oh…" was the only sound that left Ichigo's mouth.

The scene was so weird. For both them. Since when were they awkward around each other? They were both unaware of the other's thoughts, emotions… After all, none of them knew what to say.

"Well I'm gonna…go to sleep, so…" Ichigo turned to switch the light off when Rukia's words stopped him "Wait Ichigo!"

He stopped his action and slowly turned his head to Rukia. "What's wrong?"

"Hum, I just…" She needed to know. Know his decision, know what he was thinking about all this, what did he want to do? "Can we…talk?"

Ichigo looked surprised by her question and the tone she was using. It sounded like she had left her mask. Though she was still hiding them a bit, you could perceive emotions in her voice. Ichigo surely felt happy about that. He hated when she was hiding her feelings…

"Hum, yeah sure. Could we do this fast? I'm really tired" answered the orange-haired man.

"Okay" Rukia sat on the edge of closet while Ichigo stayed up, face to the girl

Because Rukia wasn't talking and staring at the floor, Ichigo started "So, what did you wanted to talk about?"

'Just ask him the damn question!' she kept yelling in her mind.

"I just wanted to know…Did you- I mean" she breathed one last time before changing her voice a little, trying to sound indifferent "I was just wondering if you had made your choice yet."

Ichigo however, saw through her game. He knew her like he had known her all his life. It was obvious for him that she was trying to sound like she didn't care, but her eyes betrayed her.

Ichigo could perceive her true feelings trough her large violet iris: she was scared, worried, anxious…

So when she saw him smiled gently at her, Rukia was amazed. She was expecting another reaction fore sure. A scowl, a sigh, a growl or simply nothing… _Anything_, but a smile.

She dropped the mask she was trying to build when Ichigo responded "Don't worry Rukia, you can count on me. Soul Society won't get rid of me that easily."

Rukia widened her eyes. She couldn't believe it. With one sentence, all her fears and stress were gone, leaving in her stomach a giant joy.

"R-Really!" she cried out with a pinch too much happiness "Hum, I mean… Good. Captain Commander Yamamoto will be happy to hear that." Rukia let out, trying to gain her seriousness again.

Ichigo smirked "Yeah, I believe it's the right decision. Well, if that is all, I think I'm going to sleep"

Ichigo walked toward the light, but before turning it off, he spoke playfully "I didn't notice you wanted me to move to the Soul Society so much…" _then_ he turned off the light.

Ichigo was trying to hide his smile as he could practically sense Rukia widening her eyes and dropping her mouth in the dark. After closing her mouth and relaxing her eyes, Rukia immediately replied: "Pfff! Not at all! I only didn't want to be stuck with someone weak for the mission."

Ichigo let his smile grew bigger while he was walking to his bed. "Of course" he said, not even trying to hide the amusement in his voice.

The boy lay down on his mattress and let out a big sigh. A few minutes later he was about to fall asleep when he noticed that Rukia was still sitting on the edge of the closet, looking at him in the dark.

Just when he was gonna ordered her to go to sleep, the raven-haired girl spoke in a whisper, thinking that Ichigo was deeply sleeping "Thank you for not abandoning me, Ichigo."

The boy didn't move, nor did he even breathe. Rukia then got back in the closet and closed the door silently.

After several minutes being freeze, Ichigo smiled and whispered in his head "Thanks to you, Rukia, for being here for me…"

Finally, maybe she did still care about him…

Both fell asleep not long after, a smile full of joy and relief drew on their lips.

**So here was the second chapter, please review and let me know what you think!**

**|Death and Berry|**


	3. Goodbye Sweet Home, Hello Destiny

**Hey guys! Here is the 3rd chapter, I hope you like it ^^**

**Just want to clear something: In the previous chapters, when Ichigo thinks about Rukia being perfect, cute and all… Well he feels those thoughts (If I could say..) in his heart, he don't actually realize that he thinks about them… You know what I mean? Sorry if it's not clear… x) **

**I apologize again for the grammar mistakes… English is my second language :) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or the characters. Tite Kubo does…lucky guy…**

Together Alone

Chapter 3: Goodbye Sweet Home, Hello Destiny

"Ichigo! Ichigo! Wake up!"

A strong and mad female voice was shouting in Ichigo Kurosaki's ears, taking him away from the sweet sleep.

The boy grunted in response "Not now Rukia…" The black-haired woman let out an angry sound. Just when she was about to snap her fist in Ichigo's stomach, the boy quickly opened his eyes and sat on his bed, in shock.

"Rukia! Is it really you? You're back?" yelled the carrot-top, shaking Rukia's shoulder with his large hands.

The vice-captain frowned "What do you mean 'you're back?' I've arrived here last night dumbass!"

Suddenly Ichigo widened as the last night's events hit him, too shocked to realize the insult he got from his friend. He then let go of Rukia's shoulders "That's right. Hey we're going on our mission today, right?" he spoke, looking at Rukia.

The girl shot him an annoyed look "Duh, that's why I've been trying to wake you up for the last ten minutes! We have to eat; Yuzu said the food will be ready soon. After you will pack your stuffs then we pass by at Urahara to pick some things for the mission, and then finally we can head off to New York City."

Ichigo got up and stretched, trying to ignore the pinch in his heart when Rukia talked about packing his stuffs. It would be so weird to leave this place… After all these years and memories…

"Okay, I'm gonna get dress and I'll meet you guys in the kitchen"

Rukia nodded and got out of the room, closing the door behind her.

After he got dressed, Ichigo was about to get out of the room when his eyes caught a picture. It was in his drawer, under a pile of socks. A woman with long and curly brown hair was smiling at the camera.

Ichigo let a sad and small smile appear on his face "Hey mom. It's been a long time… I hope you're happy where you are. Don't worry about me, I'm fine here. I'm about to start a new life… I know you will always be there for me…-"

Ichigo suddenly stopped when he heard Yuzu's voice calling him from downstairs "Onii-chan! Breakfast's ready!"

"I'm coming!" Ichigo loudly responded.

He looked one last time at the picture "I love you mom" he whispered before putting the image back in his drawer and walking out of the room.

At the table, Isshin seemed happy, Karin and Yuzu were silent, Rukia was wondering when Ichigo will talk about his decision to his little sisters, and finally the orange-haired boy was already thinking about the content of Karin's letter.

Isshin was about to say something when his boy spoke before him "So Karin, what was written in the letter?"

He usually didn't barge in his sister's life like that, but when the midget captain of the 10th division was mentioned, he couldn't help it.

Karin jumped at the question, doing her best not to blush. She finally turned her head and growled silently "None of your business…"

Ichigo suddenly hit his fist on the table in anger, making everyone jump "I knew it! That bastard is dead!"

"Ichi-nii!" cried Yuzu, but her brother was already up.

The boy was heading for the door when suddenly he felt an intense pain on the back of his left knee. He immediately yelled in his attacker's face "Ow! What the hell Rukia!"

"First of all, calm down idiot!" she yelled back at him.

Ichigo took a deep breath, not leaving Rukia of his mad eyes.

"Now, will you just relax you imbecile!" she screamed again even louder in his face, making the boy blink and back off a little bit. "Karin is not in the obligation to tell you everything! It was probably not even written what you think in the letter! And even if it was, do you really think Hitsugaya Taicho will do anything stupid? He's not that kind of irresponsible person! So now just sit back and shut up because you already disturbed my delicious meal!"

With that, Rukia grabbed Ichigo's t-shirt collar and put him hard back on his chair. She then sat at her own place and sighed calmly before continuing to eat casually.

Nobody else was eating. They were all mouth open, staring in shock at Rukia. Karin even dropped her chopsticks in her plate.

Hearing a something hit a plate, Rukia lifted her eyes and saw that everyone was staring at her like she was an alien. 'Fuck, that's right, Ichigo's family never saw me like that before…' she cursed in her mind, resisting the idea of hitting her head against the table for doing such an impulsive act.

"Huh… I was… hungry?" she tried nervously to make up for her wild behaviour of before.

'She must be in her PMS or something like that…' thought Ichigo in horror

Nobody moved until Isshin let out a big laugh.

Everyone switched for Rukia to him. While Karin and Ichigo wondered what was so funny, Yuzu started laughing slightly along with her father. "I didn't know you could be such a tough person Rukia-chan…" said Yuzu when everyone started eating again.

Rukia smirked "I guess it can happen sometimes"

Ichigo almost chuckled with his eggs '_sometimes_?' he thought 'sometimes my ass…'

The boy finally decided to let the Tôshirô subject drop or he could lose his good sense again. Plus he didn't want to know what Rukia could do to him today…

So he finally continued to eat his food, obviously with a hard and angry scowl on his face.

After Rukia thanked Yuzu for the delicious meal, she and Ichigo headed upstairs.

"You know, I should explain to you the details of the mission while you're packing, instead of just loosing my time."

Ichigo looked at her before grabbing his suitcase in his wardrobe "Yeah, good idea"

The raven-haired girl sat on her friend's bed. She was about to start her information when Ichigo cut her "Why do you always have to sit on my bed?" he growled

Rukia only responded with a grin "Because" Ichigo gritted his teeth "There's the floor if you want to sit!"

This time, Rukia's grin turned into a real smile full of memories 'Just like old time…' she spoke happily in her head. She missed this so much…

"Why are you smiling for?" Ichigo suspiciously asked her.

The girl's smile disappeared in less than a second "Nothing. So, you want to hear about the mission or not?" she asked, annoyed.

Ichigo finally decided to abandon, he would probably have lost anyway… "Yeah, yeah"

"Finally" Rukia sighed "So, like I said before, after you finish packing, we're gonna pick some things at Urahara and then we will head for New York City. But you have to know that this mission is not exactly like the others…"

"What do you mean?" asked Ichigo, taking a pile of clothes from his drawer.

"The purpose of this mission is to get more information about the enemy. All we know about this person is that he –or she- is extremely fast. More fast than anyone from Soul Society… The Seireitei sent a few shinigamis two weeks ago, and one of them was killed. The killer is certainly not human, because he murdered a soldier in less than two seconds. The others tried to run after him but he was too fast. Captain Soi Fon was in command and even she couldn't reach him. They totally lost his track. Our mission is mainly to stay in this city, in our gigai because the enemy bewares since he realized Soul Society sent soldiers. So basically, we are going to pretend to be humans. Our goal is to learn more about the enemy, for the Seireitei to be able to stop him. But we have to be really careful; there might be an army of killers like him… We have no idea of what he or they are capable of. All we got is an information from Soi Fon Taicho: the person she saw that killed one of her men was wearing a black hood."

Ichigo had stop packing and was intensely listening at Rukia. Seeing his reaction, she continued "You understand why it was useful for the Seireitei to have you for this Ichigo: you know the world of the living better than any other shinigamis. We will be able to deceive the enemy. Ukitake Taicho suggested me to go with you if you accepted, mainly because of my journeys in the world of the living with you, but also because of my strength." she finished, a bit of proud in her voice.

"And how are we gonna be able to get information about this guy without getting caught?" asked the orange-haired man.

"That's why we have to stop at Urahara. Sure he gave me my gigai, but he has a new invention. It's a simple patch you stick on your skin and it absorbs almost all your spiritual pressure, kind of like Kenpachi Taicho's eye patch. So _he_ won't be able to spot us from the other humans. Also, we will be able to detect the killer with my hollow sensor. Captain Kurotsuchi modified it so it will detect whenever the enemy is getting close to any person with high reiatsu. That way we get there before he kills the person and we try to get as much information as possible. The most difficult part will be to keep out of the limelight."

"Okay" spoke Ichigo after a few seconds "So it's an infiltration mission. I understand more now…"

He had continued packing when Rukia called his name "Ichigo…"

The boy turned his head and looked at her "What?"

"Do you want to say bye to your friends before leaving? And what about your job?"

Ichigo thought for a few moments before answering "No, they are all working or busy anyway… I will tell them after the mission… And I don't have a job anymore, I quit last month because hollow alerts were disturbing my work hours"

"Oh…Okay then…" quietly responded Rukia. She wanted to tell him she was sorry he had to leave his friends, family, his world… But she just…didn't know how. So she kept quiet.

When Ichigo finished his packing a half an hour later, both him and Rukia went downstairs silently, their bags in hand. It was time to say goodbye to his family.

"Well, I guess we'll be going…" said Ichigo as Yuzu quickly ran into his arms.

"I'm gonna miss you so much Onii-chan… I know you _have_ to go, but know that I will always miss you. Just promise you will come visit?" she asked, lifting her teary eyes to her big brother.

Ichigo smiled gently at her "Of course Yuzu… I promise I will come visit every occasion I get." He assured her, hugging his little sister back.

After Yuzu backed off, wiping her tears, Ichigo looked at his other baby sister.

"Karin, I'm sorry I freaked out earlier… It's just that-"

"I know Ichi-nii…" cut the black-haired twin "Just be careful okay?" she said hugging her brother slightly, fighting her tears back.

"I will…" Ichigo squeezed here emotionally in his arms before letting her go.

Rukia swallowed hard. She loved Ichigo's sisters almost as family, and this scene was touching her too…

"We're gonna miss you too Rukia-chan!" cried Yuzu, surprising the woman with a hug "You're like a sister to us!"

Karin stayed back but smiled at Rukia, letting her know she felt the same way. Rukia slightly hesitated; she was not use to this kind of affection. But soon, she smiled too and put her arms around Yuzu. "You're like sisters to me too…" responded the older girl as Yuzu sniffed in her arms.

Ichigo was smiling at the scene when he caught the eyes of his father. The old man smiled playfully at him and winked. Ichigo only growled silently at his crazy dad and picked up his suitcase. He felt surprise about it, but the packing and the goodbyes didn't affect him as much as he thought. Maybe because he knew he was doing the right choice, and of course, because he knew it wasn't the _real_ goodbyes.

When Yuzu finally let go of Rukia, Ichigo looked at her and she nodded her head. They walked to the front door and just when they were gonna go out, Isshin stopped them.

"Ichigo" he said and his son turned to him. The older man smiled and happily spoke to his boy one last time "Protect them all"

Ichigo was touched by his words. He grinned back at his father "Just like old time."

Rukia and he waved at everyone "Bye, we'll see soon, I promise!"

"Be careful Ichi-nii!"

Finally, they were out in the streets of Karakura, both taken by their own thoughts, until they reached Urahara Shoten.

Rukia opened the door and entered the store, when she suddenly realized something. "Hey, where _is_ Kon by the way? He wasn't at your place?" she turned to ask Ichigo behind her.

The boy blinked and answered "Oh yeah, about that…"

He was cut by a screaming lion "Neeeeee-saaaannnnn!"

Rukia quickly turned around to see a toy jumping on her. Luckily, she snapped her foot in his face before he could reach her chest, and knocked him down on the floor.

"Oh Nee-san! It's really you! It's been so long!" Rukia gave a questioning look to Ichigo, although she had understood already. "Hehe, yeah he's staying at Urahara's now…"

Suddenly a big noise was heard in the back of the store, and soon a _really _pissed off black cat came out of a room. "Kon! You damn useless toy! Come back- Ohhh!" exclaimed the animal, her cat eyes widening "I see he accepted your offer, Kuchiki-san."

The girl nodded "Yes he did, oh and thank you again for this dress Yoruichi-san" thanked the small woman, waving at the dress on her.

"You're totally welcome dear. I don't think that school uniform or that pyjama would've been adequate."

Rukia agreed with a nod. 'School uniform? Pyjama? What the heck are they talking about?' wondered Ichigo in his head.

"Well" started the Shinoin lady "I guess you're here for Kisuke's patch thing. I'll get him for you"

With that, smoke appeared around the cat and soon a black skin woman was standing there. A very _naked_ woman.

"Kisuke!" she yelled to the back with her normal voice "They're here!"

"Coming!" was the response.

Yoruichi turned to the guests only to see a _very_ awkward Rukia and a _very_ blushing Ichigo. The lady smirked at the boy.

"Put some freaking clothes on!" he yelled, hiding the view with his hand.

The woman laughed, walking to the kimono that was hanged to the wall. She then got herself into it and spoke playfully "Can't you ever relax Ichigo?"

The orange-haired growled shyly in response "_Relax_? You're the one with a problem! It's the second time I see you naked dammit!"

Rukia suddenly widened her large eyes and quickly turned to Ichigo, screaming madly "WHAT?"

Before Ichigo could even think about what was up with Rukia's reaction, Yoruichi busted into a laugh. It was just so fun to play with these two kids!

Both young shinigamis turned to her when Urahara walked in, a big smile illuminating his face "What's so funny my kitty?"

The not-so-cat frowned before punching the blond in the face "Don't ever call me that"

His smile fell off a little "Fine, fine… So, Kuchiki, I see you got the young Kurosaki with you!"

Ichigo grunted "Stop talking like I'm not here!"

Kon suddenly got up from Rukia's feet and yelled, his plushy hands on his hips "Yeah, me too! I still exist you know! Oh my Rukia! Please take me with you! They keep me in a cage here! I'm not an object!" he kept crying.

"Well, actually you kinda are…" mumbled Ichigo under his breath.

"We wouldn't have to put you in a cage if you weren't a pain in the ass all the time and if you'd stop jumping on my breasts." replied a frowning Yoruichi.

Ichigo sighed 'He hadn't change at all…'

In spite of Kon's whining, Yoruichi took him by the head and threw him in his iron cage. She then locked it and turned to face Urahara, giving him a look that says 'Well, what the hell are you waiting for?'

"What?" replied the man.

Yoruichi rolled her eyes in annoyance "The patch Kisuke!"

Urahara widely opened his eyes in revelation "Oh right! Follow me students!"

The four of them headed for the secret place of Urahara Shoten. They passed the training ground and stopped at the laboratory.

"Here it is" said Urahara, pointing a small square, thin as a sheet of paper. "It's a patch who absorbs your spiritual energy. I called it the _Abusoba_. It's simple, you stick it on your skin and it works. If you take it off, it releases your reiatsu. You have one each obviously."

Rukia took them and put them in her bag with the rest of her stuffs. "Thank you, Urahara…" said Rukia to the scientist.

"No problem. It's the least I can do for…well, you know…"

The lieutenant nodded silently before Urahara exclaimed "Oh my! I almost forgot!"

He walked over to a desk and picked a pile of documents, he then gave it to the young people "Here, this is your train and plane tickets. And those are your passports and Identity Cards. Of course, they are fake, I made them."

"Plane tickets? Passports?" asked Ichigo surprisingly "We're not going in shunpo?"

Rukia answered like he was an idiot "Of course not, we have to act like normal humans now. If we get there with our powers, he would detect our reiatsu."

Ichigo _did_ felt like an idiot for not thinking about it before.

Urahara continued "Don't worry about the customs; these papers are exactly and perfectly like real passports. There is no way a human will notice a difference. I conserved both your first names, and it's written that you're both form Japan. But I changed your family names, just in case… So, Kuchiki your name is now Rukia Omisari, and Kurosaki you're now called Ichigo Nakamura. Also I changed your ages. You are now both 21 years old."

"Why 21?" asked the orange-haired man.

The shop owner smiled and winked "Oh, you'll understand when you're there…" his words only made Yoruichi rolled her eyes.

Ichigo and Rukia decided to let it drop. They were use to that kind of secret with Urahara. Although Ichigo still gave him a suspicious look.

"I also took care of the apartment you'll be staying in during the next month. The address and a map of the town are with the other papers… Well, I think that's all." Urahara told them as they headed for the front door. "I wish you good luck my young birdies!"

"Thank you again, both of you" thanked Rukia as she bowed her head.

Both adults smiled and the scientist closed his eyes cheerfully "You're welcome sweetheart!"

Once Ichigo and Rukia were out of the store, the blond man sighed "Ah these two… They remind me of us when we were young…"

"You wish Kisuke, you wish" responded Yoruichi, smiling and tapping her _friend_'s shoulder.

Ichigo and Rukia were now waiting for the train, in the Karakura Station. They hadn't talk much until Rukia turned to him, her gorgeous violet eyes filled with questions. "Ichigo, what exactly is a 'plane'?" she asked innocently.

Ichigo sighed, but couldn't help the small smile forming on his lips. 'Rukia is really back to me…' he thought with joy. 'New York City, here we are…'

And with that, he started his explanations.

**Here was the third chapter, please don't forget to review and let me know what you think!** **:) Thank you!**

**|Death and Berry| **


	4. Two cats in the ocean

**Hi guys! The real thing can really start now, with the fourth chapter! Sorry for mistakes.**

**Disclaimer: Bleach and its characters are own by Tite Kubo. I do not own Victoria's Secret in any way. Pedro Mavena is just a fruit of my imagination.**

**I hope you like it! **

Together Alone

Chapter 4: Two cats in the ocean

"Damn it Rukia! I told you we should have taken a cab earlier instead of walking around the entire freaking town!"

Ichigo was exhausted. Completely drained of energy. Since they had left Urahara two days ago, they hadn't stop moving. They took the train from Karakura to Tokyo, and then got on their plane for the United States. What a memorable experience for Ichigo, who never took an air transport once in his life… But for Rukia Kuchiki, it was a complete other story.

"_Ichigo," started Rukia nervously. "Why don't we get out of this thing?"_

_The plane was now moving, and the two were sitting next to each other, waiting for the machine to take off in the air. And Rukia was totally freaking out._

"_Rukia, we can't. I already told you. Plus now we're moving so it's too late." He looked over at the girl: her hands were desperately grabbing the armrest, an anxious look on her face._

_The boy sighed nicely, "Rukia… There's no reason to be scared, everything will be okay…"_

_She slightly hit him on the arm with a shaky fist. "Pfff… I-I'm not scared at all! I just don't trust these kinds of weird human machines…"_

_Ichigo grinned, 'She's actually scared of something… That's a first,' he thought._

_Suddenly, the plane got high in the air, surprising the little black-haired woman. Feeling like they were going to crash and that her ears were gonna explode, she quickly grabbed Ichigo's wrist for security. Ichigo slightly jumped from the contact and looked at Rukia: her eyes were shut and she was certainly scared as hell. _

_The boy smiled gently and put his hands on the girl's trembling one. Rukia quickly opened her eyes to see that Ichigo was looking outside, his back facing her. She stared at their holding hands and immediately the fear was gone. She knew she was in security. She was safe, with him. _

Now, after 22 hours of plane, they were hardly trying to find their apartment building.

"That 'cab' like you just called it, had no reason to be trusted…" replied the Kuchiki to her partner.

Ichigo loudly growled. His feet were almost bleeding and he was extremely tired of carrying his suitcase.

He lifted up his eyes to take a look around when he caught something: a high building with the words 'Maven's apartment' in big black letters.

"Rukia…" Ichigo tried to start calmly, "What is the name of the building again?"

"Maven. Why?"

"Damn it! It's right there!" he yelled pointing the building. "We passed here at least three times!"

"No! It can't be this one!" replied Rukia. "Look! It's supposed to be there!" she explained, showing the map to Ichigo.

The tall one blinked a few times and looked carefully at the paper. When he finally understood, he had difficulty not to rip his head off.

"For Christ sake!" screamed the shinigami in fury "You've been holding the map upside down! See now?" he showed Rukia, turning the map correctly.

The girl blinked and when she suddenly realized her mistake, turned her head and mumbled, "Not my fault…"

Ichigo widened his eyes. "_Not your fault_?! You- Rah! Never mind! Let's just go get some rest! FINALLY!"

As they were trying to enter the building, a man opened the door from inside. Seeing their bags, he politely smiled and asked them, "Are you Mr Nakamura and Ms Omisari?"

"Yes…?" hesitantly responded Ichigo.

The man's smile grew bigger and he handled his hand to the orange-haired. "Ah! We were waiting for you! Please enter!"

Once they were inside, Ichigo noticed a desk, a fan and couple of stairs. "Let me introduce myself, I'm Pedro Mavena, this building's owner. Your apartment has been furnished yesterday, since your agent called us so it could be ready for your arrival."

"My…agent?" Ichigo asked with a lost face.

"Yes, your agent. Mister…Urabara I think. Don't need to hide yourself Mr Nakamura. He already told us you were a famous author in Japan. We are more than happy to have you and your friend in our building for the next month!" Pedro told happily, his 40 year old moustache moving from his lips' curves.

"I see…" Ichigo sceptically smiled to the man. 'Damn Urahara and his crazy stories…'

Pedro then took a key from a drawer in his desk and waved the stair to his two new guests. "I'll now show you your apartment, if you'll follow me…"

Rukia and Ichigo walked through five long stairs, Pedro leading the way.

Finally they stopped at the last floor; the sixth.

"There are four apartments on each floor, except the first one. You have the number 18 because there's only one other resident on your level."

They got in front of a door with the number 18 on it. Mr Mavena opened it with the key, then waved at the inside: there was a small hallway and on the right were a kitchen and a living room, on the left was a bathroom and finally in front was a closed door.

"I'll let you visit your apartment now, here are the two keys," he gave the Kuchiki the small objects. "I'm downstairs for today, if you have any questions," said Pedro as he slightly bowed his head. "Ms Omisari, Mr Nakamura…"

"Thank you," responded Rukia as she closed the door.

"Well, let's take a look," started Ichigo, leaving his bag on the floor.

They quickly went around the three rooms in the place and the closed door was the only thing left. "That probably leads to the two bedrooms," murmured Ichigo to no one in particular.

But the door opened to one room. One big room. There was a closet, a big window on the back, then a door who leads to the bathroom and two large beds not too distant from each other and then finally… 'Wait _two_ beds in _one _room?' thought Ichigo, his eyes popping open.

"Huh…" Ichigo was about to protest when Rukia's voice stopped him.

"Wow! This view is great!" the girl exclaimed with the edge of her mouth curving upwards, jumping on the closest bed.

That left Ichigo perplexed. He blinked a few times before loudly replying, "What? It's not great! We are both in the _same_ room!"

Rukia gave him an I-don't-care look. "Yeah, so? I've stayed in your room before."

"Yeah! But that's not the same I mean, you were- but I…we just…" Ichigo was hardly trying to make his point, but his temptation only made Rukia lift an eyebrow. "Argh! Never mind!" The boy didn't exactly understand why he was freaking out so much… And he was just too exhausted to think about it…

"I'm going to sleep," he added, crashing on the other bed next to the window.

Rukia then took her hand bag and walked towards the bathroom. "Well then, I'm gonna take a shower. I haven't washed in three days…" she mumbled as she closed the door behind her.

'Finally, some silence…' Ichigo thought, relieved.

In spite of the heat of July, Ichigo soon found himself comfortable on that new mattress, and fell asleep a few seconds later as the water of the shower was flowing.

"Ichigo! Ichigo!" a voice shouted in the boys ears with hesitant little hits on his left shoulder.

"Hum…What do you want Rukia?" he grunted silently. "I was sleeping…" He finished in his head 'Plus with that fucking time difference…'

The boy painfully opened his eyes and saw a little woman standing on the edge of the bed. Her black hair was tided up in a small ponytail, her large amethyst eyes were looking awkwardly at him and surprisingly, her midget cheeks were slightly pink. But the most important was her frame: she was wrapped in a white towel. _Nothing_ but a towel. And to help, a subtle layer of steamy water was covering her bare skin.

Ichigo swallowed hard as he felt his own face starting to heat up. He slowly sat up in his bed and stuttered, "Why- Why aren't you dressed?"

Rukia frowned shyly. "Well I kinda… forgot something…"

"What?" asked Ichigo as he was wondering why his heart was beating faster.

"Hum, well… You see, in Soul Society, us woman use bandage to support our…breasts." Ichigo stopped breathing. "You know for training and all… But I left it with my Soul Reaper form… And now I can't change back because it may make us spot… I didn't need any with Yoruichi san's dress, but I can't put that all the time… All other clothes that I have with me are the Karakura high school uniform and Yuzu's old pyjama." finished Rukia, ashamed to have to ask Ichigo's help for women issues.

Ichigo blinked a few times. 'That's what Yoruichi was talking about before…' he silently realized.

"Okay… Well what do you want me to do? Sorry I can't lend you my pink bra…" he finished, smirking slyly at her.

But instead of hitting him like expected the orange-haired teaser, she just gave him an ignorant and suspicious look. "What's a 'bra'?"

Ichigo rolled his eyes. 'Of course,' he thought. "It's what girls of the world of the living use as 'support'," he explained. "Anyway, I'll buy you clothes but I don't have any money, so…"

Suddenly, realization hit him and his eyes widened intensely.

"Dammit Rukia! How are we gonna feed ourselves if we don't have United States money?!" yelled the boy in total panic, forgetting about Rukia's…exposure.

"Jeez, relax. I have a card from Soul Society that will pay for all our personal matters; food, objects, entries to places…"

Ichigo stood still with a puzzled face. "A card?" he asked with an unsure tone.

"Yes. A… cretid card or something…" Rukia frowned, trying to remember the right name.

The orange-haired tall boy sighed. "A _credit_ card?"

Rukia's finger left her chin in reflection and her eyes popped open. "Yes! Anyway, Urahara explained it to me. He changed the Seireitei's money for United States money. So basically, whenever we need it, there's money. It's all on the Soul Society's back."

"Fiew I'm relieved…" sighed Ichigo as he calmed down. "Well, now if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to sleep."

But unfortunately for him, the midget caught his t-shirt and stopped him from getting back on his new bed. "Oh no you're not! I need some clothes! And those 'bla' you're talking about…" she added, her hands on his hips and a determined look on her face.

Ichigo fought not to laugh at her mistake and her… cuteness.

He then chocked with his own saliva when he realized how he had been describing Rukia.

"Hum, it's _bra _by the way… And I'll go, but just because I need to get some food… I'm starving. I swear if you drag me to thousands of these girly places I'm leaving you right there."

Rukia nodded. "Fair enough."

'Oh my god, she's turning into Byakuya…' thought Ichigo with horror.

But Rukia had turned her back to him and didn't notice his change of expression. "I'm probably not gonna do that anyway. You know I'm _anything_ but girly…"

"Oh my god! I _love _shopping! Hey Ichigo let's go there!"

Ichigo growled for the ninetieth time. Although he was suspicious, Ichigo didn't expect Rukia to be such a crazy shop girl… He had at least ten giant bags filled with clothes from ten different places. Of course, the adjusted hollow –well now _killer_- sensor was in his left pocket in case the enemy showed his face. They were still prepared.

"Who knew clothes could be so fun?" exclaimed the girl with joy.

Even if Ichigo hated shopping for hours, he couldn't go away. The reason? Simple enough: Rukia's enthusiasm. It was extremely rare to see her like this, a big happy smile on her pink lips, illuminating her face. Ichigo wanted to conserve this side of her perfectly in his head. He didn't want to spoil her joy. So he wouldn't leave her now. He just couldn't.

Even so, the bags were starting to get heavy and the boy had not even slept or eaten yet.

"Rukia…" he complained. "Can we just take something to eat? I'm freakin' tired and I could devour a bear right now."

The woman shinigami thought for a second. 'He does look very tired…' she silently noticed.

Rukia sighed and adjusted Yoruichi's dress correctly on her before answering, "Fine, we'll eat. But before could we go to a shop where there are those bras? We can go back to the apartment after."

Ichigo sighed in relief: he could finally eat and sleep! 'Thank God!' he thought when he abruptly realized something.

_He _would have to _shop _for _Rukia Kuchiki_'s_ bras_?That doesn't sound good…

'The rest, the food… Think about the food Ichigo!' he encouraged for himself.

"Fine…"

With a scowl, he continued walking in the mall, Rukia beside him. When he noticed a place called _Victoria's Secret _with pink walls, pink lights -well, pink _everywhere_, he took a quick look at the showcase and finally entered the store. Rukia followed Ichigo, absolutely amazed by the colours and decorations of the store.

Suddenly, a woman with a big and almost too happy smile appeared in front of Ichigo, her brown hair tied up in a long ponytail. The substitute shinigami noticed her tag name: Jessica.

"Hello. I'm Jessica. How may I help you?" she asked nicely to her two new clients.

Ichigo thanked god he wouldn't have to pick Rukia's underwear himself and hesitantly smiled to the lady. "Yes," he turned and nicely pushed Rukia in front. "She needs some…brassieres…" he shyly asked, scratching the back of his head.

"No problem." The woman smiled at Rukia. "What size do you take sweetie?"

Rukia only stared at her with big innocent eyes. She looked totally lost. "Huh, I… I don't really know…" Somehow she felt a bit intimidated by the tall girl… God knows why a powerful shinigami who fear almost nothing will be intimidated by a human saleswoman…

"Okay…" Jessica looked pensively at Rukia's chest, making the girl blush a little. "Well, at first view like that I'd go with… 32 B. Yeah, I think we'll try that."

She then walked to a section divided by sizes. She waved the 32 B rack at Rukia. "You just pick the ones you like."

Rukia hesitated for a second before choosing a lacy black bra with a little pink bunny in the middle. Ichigo smiled slightly as he was observing her. 'Obviously, that Chappy again…'

After a couple of minutes, Rukia had chosen five: a strapless deep blue one, a silky white one, a violet one with flowers on it, a red one with black lace and of course her black/Chappy one. All were the prettiest in her opinion, but also the ones with less padding. The young Kuchiki found those cushions slightly weird.

The seller and Rukia then went into a fitting room to be sure these new brassiere fits well. Meanwhile, Ichigo was waiting in front of the small room, sitting on a pink couch.

Finally, Ichigo heard Jessica spoke, "So great, they all fit!"

"I think this one is my favourite…" Rukia announced from the cabin, making Ichigo grin. He then hard a sudden _click_ and jumped a little when the brown-haired woman opened the door. "Well, would you like to show it to your boyfriend?"

Rukia, after looking into Ichigo's eyes for 0.4 seconds, immediately covered her chest with her arms and hands. "No! He's not my boyfriend!" shout the small woman as her cheeks turned dark red.

Ichigo only got the time to see that she was wearing the black bra with the little bunny and blushed madly too.

The seller seemed surprised and looked between the two. "Oh really? Sorry then…" And with that, she closed the door again.

Ichigo was trying to remember how to breathe. He was totally paralyzed. 'Did…_that_ just happen?' he thought, blinking again and again to reconnect with the real world.

He couldn't believe what had just happen. He….saw….Rukia in….

The boy swallowed with difficulty and snapped his face with his right hand. 'No! Don't think about it! Just forget that it happened!'

Finally, Rukia and Jessica came back from the fitting room with the five new pieces of clothes. They were heading for the cashier when the woman in high heels turned to the small one. "Would you like some panties to go with your new bras?" she suggested as you could almost see dollar signs in her eyes.

Rukia blushed again much to Ichigo's surprise. But obviously, when the midget saw a pair of black underwear with pink Chappys on it, she couldn't resist and finally chose four others to go with her brassieres.

They paid and their seller thanked them with a wink as they were walking out of the store.

It was silent between the two until Rukia hit him hard on the shin, making Ichigo jump in pain. "OW! Why in hell did you hit me for?!"

The girl looked at him with a face she wanted mad and intimidating, but her shyness could easily be perceive. Especially by Ichigo.

"You. Did. Not. See. Nothing. You hear me?" she warned to make herself clear.

Ichigo growled slightly from his new injury and replied, "Yeah, yeah."

They continued walking as Rukia growled under her breath, "Pervert…"

Luckily Ichigo didn't hear her or else another of their stupid little fight would have exploded.

Finally, they were home at the end of the day, the stomach full of American food and their arms loaded with purchases.

Both of them let out an exhausted sigh as the girl dropped her shopping bags on her bed and the boy their useful new stuffs on his.

"I don't think I've ever been this tired," spoke Ichigo, crashing on his mattress next to several boxes.

"Oh, it's already 9 p.m. …" said Rukia who had just saw the clock on the microwave. She then clapped her hands together in excitement. "I'm gonna wash my teeth with my new Chappy tooth brush! And then sleep in my new blue Chappy pyjama!"

Ichigo chuckled slightly. "And I thought you weren't girly…"

"Pff. I'm not." She frowned before slamming the bathroom door.

Ichigo shook his head, amused. This girl was absolutely indescribable.

He forced himself to stand up and move their new purchases to the floor.

They had spent all afternoon shopping for various stuff. They bought a ventilator for the hot nights of July; soap for the laundry, for the dishes and for the shower; tooth paste and brush –Rukia had obviously forgotten hers- razors and shaving cream for men and women –Yes, Ichigo was already shaving his beard and well, Rukia is a lady-; deodorant for women; other pair of shoes for both shinigamis…. Well, a lot of stuffs.

They were lucky though that the enemy didn't show up today; it would have been rough, chasing his trace with all their purchases…

After they had grabbed another fast thing to eat, they were too tired to go to the grocery store, so they came back to their apartment.

Ichigo sighed as he made himself comfortable on his mattress and pillows. Today had been a tough one… One thing was sure: he was never bored with Rukia and her strong personality. Curiously, even though most people would've hated it, Ichigo kind of…liked that.

**Here you go! **

**Don't forget to review and let me know what you think if this chap! I'll try to uptade as soon as possible :)**

**|Death and Berry| **


	5. On The Trace

**Hey guys! Finally! The fifth chapter! Unfortunately, I have several things to say before passing to the story.**

**First of all, thanks to all my followers! 50 already, thank you so much! I'm very grateful to all my reviewers too, love you all! Secondly, as you probably noticed, I changed the rating to T. Well, I'm sorry for the change but I wasn't fixed on future things for the story, and I finally set up on something so, the rating will stay T. For language, violence and… Teen themes? If you can say...x)**

**Next is a point I wanted to clear out. In the previous chapters, I put several separations in places in the story, but when I published the chapter, it doesn't appear. I hate that, it kind of makes it too… stick together. So I'll try a new thing, I really hope it works this time**

**Disclaimer: Bleach and its characters are own by Tite Kubo. From now on, I'll be creating and adding several characters and shops to the story. They are a fruit of my imagination.**

**I think that's it, enjoy!**

Together Alone

Chapter 5: On The Trace

In Manhattan, a lazy orange-haired was sleeping as the day rises in New York City.

Luckily, no alerts had disturbed the boy's well deserved sleep during the previous night, and he was still slightly snoring on his pillow. Not that Ichigo usually snore, but he was particularly tired last night.

As he was slowly waking up, he heard small footsteps approaching him and before he could open his hazel eyes, a _very_ cold substance splashed him in the face.

"GYAAHH!" yelled Ichigo as he sat up in shock. "What the-" He stopped when he met a pair of impatient violet eyes. The owner of the two globes had a glass in her hand, now empty of the unknown liquid.

"Finally! You woke up!" said the girl, looking exasperated.

"What the fuck?!" screamed Ichigo as he wiped his face with the back of his hand. "Why did you splash cold water on me?"

"I had no choice!" responded the attacker. "You and your lazy ass wouldn't wake up! It's already 9 o'clock and I'm starving! We are going to breakfast!"

The boy growled as he got up. "God you can be so annoying sometimes… Just let me take a shower first."

He noticed he hadn't took off his clothes before going to sleep yesterday, and he must have been hot because his black t-shirt was soaked with sweat –and now water-.

"Hurry or you'll have my death on your conscience." Rukia advised him as she pressed on the small patch on her hip. Even if Urahara clearly said it couldn't take off, she was scared the water could make it decollate. She didn't completely trust his _Abusoba_ thing…

As Ichigo was under the shower, Rukia took her new killer sensor from her pocket and sat on the living room's couch.

She had been analysing the 'high reiatsu person' appearing on her sensor. Ichigo and she weren't staying in the middle on Manhattan for nothing: all the targets were living there. The Kuchiki soldier was passing from a red spot to another, counting 12 in total on her small screen.

There were already two more people with high reiatsu than the last time they checked in Soul Society.

A few minutes passed and Rukia was in deep thought, until Ichigo barged in from the bedroom, his orange spiky hair dripping from water. He had a white t-shirt on with blue shorts that reached his knees.

When Ichigo saw Rukia on the couch, he noticed she seemed concentrated and took a few seconds to analyze her: her wild raven hair was almost glittering and resting above her shoulders. She had a light violet camisole as a top, which they had bought yesterday, and a skirt that reached the middle of her thighs. She looked stunning, as always.

Ichigo widened his eyes to snap him out of his weird thoughts. "Hum, so," he started. "What are you doing?"

The girl looked at him, taking her brain away from all the reflections. She then got up and headed for the apartment's front door. "I'll explain to you at breakfast. Come on."

Ichigo knew arguing was pointless so he sighed and followed the Kuchiki out of the building.

IIII

Ichigo picked up his cup once again, bringing it to his lips. The coffee refill was hot and burned his tongue a bit. But he was too preoccupied by Rukia's actions to care.

The vice-captain was sitting face to him at Maggie's cafe. She was up to her second plate of pancakes, eggs and bacon, literally devouring all she had at hand. Times to times she'd take a gulp of tea, between two bites of toast and side-fruits.

Ichigo was amazed by how much she could eat despite her tiny self-being. Once again, he found himself fascinating by Kuchiki Rukia.

The man had finished his meal long before and had now nothing better to do than to slowly drink his Brazilian coffee and stare at Rukia.

"Wash awe you shtaring at?" she mumbled with difficulty, the mouth full of food.

Ichigo chuckled silently but didn't answer. Rukia swallowed her mixture of ingredients and said, "You're weird sometimes…"

Ichigo took his scowl back and replied, "What's weird is to ignore how to use a fork…"

"Well, how was I supposed to know that instead of chopsticks, they use strange shape metal to eat?" retorted the girl. "It's your job to teach me all that."

Ichigo sighed as Rukia took another bite of her beloved breakfast. "Whatever…"

Finally, Rukia finished eating. She was at the end of her cup of tea when Ichigo spoke. "So, what were you doing earlier this morning with your soul pager?"

Rukia placed her hot beverage and the table and looked at Ichigo before starting talking. "My sensor indicates the exact location of every person with high spiritual pressure in Manhattan. A team of shinigami from the Seireitei found them a few weeks ago and all their data are in my soul pager. A red spot shows their own emplacement and when the enemy approaches any of them, it starts beeping. We were able to get a general idea of the killer's reiatsu so we can locate him when he is close. But whenever the soul pager does not react, the enemy is far, out of the city. There's no danger for him to kill someone out of Manhattan because there's simply no one with high reiatsu out of here."

Ichigo opened his mouth to ask something but Rukia stopped him. "And no, to answer the question you have in mind, we can't catch him now. Like I told you before, we don't know if he's alone or if there's an army of person like him. That's why were here."

Ichigo thought for a few seconds before speaking. "But if he's not a soul reaper, a Quincy or an Arrancar, and you say he's faster than anyone… It kind of sound like a fullbring to me."

Rukia sighed. "That's what I was thinking about this morning, but it's just a supposition. We're not sure of anything."

Ichigo nodded and a few sips later, they were paying then heading out of Maggie's cafe.

"_Beep. Beep. Beep_."

Ichigo widened his eyes intensely when he realized what was the repetitive sound.

"Rukia! It's-" But the girl already had the machine in hands. She was frowning and her two violet orbs were staring intensely at the digital screen. Her fingers were moving on the sensor's buttons and she seemed extremely concentrated.

"Stella Davis." Rukia spoke. "She's at Central Park." The two partners started running in the Park's direction. Luckily, they were close enough.

"Ichigo, remember, we need to be subtle. If he unmasks us, our mission is over. It's a failure. Is it clear?" she asked harshly but seriously enough for Ichigo to understand the importance. "Yeah."

They were now rapidly walking in the giant and famous place of New York called Central Park. Ichigo, who was looking around almost nervously, growled loudly before speaking. "How are we gonna find this person anyway? Central Park is gigantic!"

Rukia suddenly stopped right in the middle of the small and busy streets. She then closed her eyes to concentrate. After a couple of endless seconds, she spoke with relieve. "It's fine for now. The killer only murders his victims in darks and isolated places. Right now she's surrounded of hundreds of person. She's probably walking in the park; she's not in danger now." She paused and focused again. "I sense the enemy close, but he isn't near the woman."

Ichigo felt a sudden bad feeling: the enemy would feel their reiatsu! He was about the tell Rukia when he remembered Urahara's patch. A huge relief wrapped around him. The _Abusoba_ was still well placed on their hips.

"Stella Davis is coming near us we'll keep an eye on her until the enemy goes away. It's weird though…" Rukia said, frowning skeptically.

"What?" Ichigo asked her.

"It seems like… I feel a really, really low spiritual pressure right next to her…" responded Rukia like she didn't understand the fact herself. "It seems like it's following her everywhere."

Ichigo didn't have the chance to reflect more about it that the young woman shinigami spoke again. "She's coming. She is 30 years old, brown hair." she informed Ichigo.

The boy resisted rolling his eyes. They were at least fifty women who looked 30 and had brown hair…

They were subtly looking around them when Rukia murmured, "She's coming from the right."

The two turned their heads at the same time and apperceived _her_ coming: she had a yellow sport-top with blue shorts on. Her hair was short and of a cocoa colour. She did look like a 30 years old. Finally, she was promenading a dark brown old dog.

The two shinigami understood at the same time: the low spiritual pressure, it was a dog. Simply a dog.

They both let out a small sigh in relief and slowly started walking not far from the target.

"We'll follow her a little. Remember, the murderer had a black hood the last time. And be subtle. It's not time for your I'm-gonna-save-everyone face." Rukia pointed out to her orange-haired partner.

The boy looked down at Rukia, surprised. "I do that face?"

The Kuchiki chuckled slightly. "Yep, Every time." Ichigo frowned but did not say anything.

IIII

They continued their secret following when the big dog stopped for a…basic need…on a poor and innocent little flower.

As Ichigo felt something disappearing, the Kuchiki looked at him and said, "He's gone. Well for now."

The young man nodded. "Yeah, I felt it too."

"He probably doesn't want to act during the day and the middle of a populated area."

"Probably…" responded Ichigo even if he had a weird feeling about all this. "But we should hang around more longer, just to be sure."

"Yes, that's what I was thinking."

Five minutes passed, then ten. The woman named Stella Davis was obviously normal. She had gone with some friends a few minutes ago, in another corner of Central Park. Ichigo and Rukia were sitting on a wooden bench, patiently waiting in case the enemy showed up again.

They had kept silent until Rukia pocked Ichigo subtly on the side with her left elbow. "Hey, these guys over there had been staring at us for several minutes." she warned Ichigo.

The shinigami narrowed his eyes to analyze the group better: five boys, actually five_ jerks _were looking at them too much often for Ichigo's like. They were all approximately 19 years old.

However, Ichigo's death glare didn't seem to work because soon a dude with short chestnut hair was walking in their direction. He had a charming smile that reached both his ears while the others chuckled in the back.

Before Ichigo could say a word, the said first guy got in front of Rukia. He wasn't as tall as Ichigo, but definitely taller than the petite shinigami. He gave her a huge smile.

"Hey, I'm Chase. I was just wondering, have I met you before? You look familiar…"

Rukia gave him an interrogative and suspicious look and responded harshly, "No, I don't think so."

The boy widened his eyes in fake realization. "Oh, I remember! I think I dreamed of you the other night! Do you want to know what you, stunning and sexy girl, were doing in it?" he said seductively, raising his right eyebrow to spice up his flirting.

Rukia blushed slightly at the 'compliment'. Except from Asano Keigo, she never really had received a compliment on how she looked. Even if the guy was rude, ludicrous and arrogant, she wasn't use to this kind of self description.

Meanwhile, Ichigo was fuming. He didn't know if it was the shock that stopped him from kicking that bastard's ass. But he knew he couldn't hold it anymore.

He protectively stepped in front of Rukia and glared like a murderer at the said 'Chase'.

"I'd back off if I were you. Leave her alone."

The boy seemed to notice Ichigo for the first time and said innocently, "Oh, is she your girlfriend?" But the teasing could easily be heard in his voice.

Ichigo gritted his teeth inside his mouth. "No."

The unknown guy smiled. "Then what are you, her brother?" he laughed slightly. "Do me a favour and go away."

Ichigo took him by the collar and growled in his ear, "Look, smart-ass, you get the hell away form her or I'll crash your teeth into dust."

The human didn't respond for a few seconds until he broke into a big chuckle.

"Wo stop! I'm so scared, _carrot top_!"

That was it for Ichigo. He no longer understood the meaning of the words 'self-control'.

His fist went flying then crashing on the jerk's nose. Hard enough for a loud _crack_ to be heard.

Chase immediately backed-off and held his broken and bleeding nose in pain.

"M-my nose! You fucking freak! You broke it!" He took off and ran away from the two partners, soon followed by his shocked friends.

The people around were starting to look at them suspiciously. Before the mouth-open Rukia could say a word, Ichigo rapidly took her wrist and started walking out of Central Park in a quick motion. "We're leaving." he simply said.

Rukia was without words. She still didn't understand why Ichigo had punched the guy, nor how did she felt about it. So she stood quiet. Again. And fallowed Ichigo out of the place.

They were walking faster than necessary in the streets of New York. Once Rukia recovered her mind a little bit, she sharply pulled away from the grip.

"Ichigo! Stop! Why in hell did you punch that boy? Our mission is to _protect_ the humans, not to fight with them!"

"This wasn't about the mission Rukia!" shouted Ichigo as he turned to face the girl. Rukia got the chance to really see his face for the first time since that 'Chase' guy interacted with them: he was mad. Really mad. And…something else Rukia couldn't perceive.

"Okay, then why are you so mad?"

"Because!" screamed Ichigo. "He was being a total pervert and I can't stand this kind of person!"

Rukia relaxed her tensed shoulders a bit and finally crossed her arms under her chest, trying to show discontent. "I can take care of myself you know. How many times will I have to tell you?"

Ichigo examined his petite partner for a few moments.

To be honest, he didn't understand himself why he had acted like that. Sure, perverted guys were really despicable to Ichigo, but why did he wanted to punch the boy so much? Deep inside, he knew it had nothing to do with the 'carrot-top' insult the guy had sent him. Well, almost anything. Maybe it was that he always wanted to protect Rukia… But then, what was the burning and incredibly uncomfortable sensation in his stomach, and in his heart?

He sighed abruptly. "Yeah, whatever… Let's go to the grocery and get it over with…"

He started walking towards a big market, Rukia right next to him.

Vegetables, fruits, rice, meat, spices, cookies, eggs, tea, ice cream… They soon found themselves with 15 grocery bags to care in their hands, and even one in Ichigo's mouth –which hurt, by the way-.

IIII

They didn't speak much until they arrived home. As Ichigo was putting the last piece of food in the fridge, he heard Rukia asking from the living room, "What time is it?"

The young man glanced at the microwave's clock. "2 p.m."

"Maybe my Chappy show is going to pass. It's usually around 3 in the world of the living."

As she was looking for the remote, Ichigo walked towards her. "Okay, first, this show is for_ babies,_ and two, it's not the same TV cable that the one in Japan, we are in United States. There aren't the same shows."

Rukia blinked as she tried to understand this human TV-cable thing… She finally gave up and sighed in disappointment. "Oh… Well, we can always check those American shows they have here."

Ichigo gave a small grin and made his way to the couch as Rukia turned the machine on.

IIII

Cooking, Soaps, Dance, Music, Drama, Sports… It was all pretty much like Japanese shows. However, a whole afternoon of TV sure is tiring. It was now 8:30 and the sun was down in Manhattan. Ichigo and Rukia had fallen asleep, each one resting on a couch arm. The humour show was still going on and nothing could disturb their sleep.

That was, until a _beep _strident sound was heard in the room. Both jumped at the sudden noise. They looked around nervously as Rukia realized the origin of the alert and took the sensor from her pocket. They were both trying to relax their heartbeats as the stress was growing inside them.

Rukia clicked a few times on the small electronic object and finally spoke. "It's a man. Jeffrey Fox, he is 23 years old. He is presently in a…sort of… Night Club, bar… I don't know… It's called 'Forever Midnight', three blocs away from here."

Ichigo was already spinning for the front door when Rukia's voice stopped him. "Idiot! Wait!"

He gave her a what-the-hell look and Rukia explained, "_Infiltration mission_, Ichigo. I hope this is the last time I have to remind you. Just… How do we need to dress in a Club?"

Ichigo sighed, the adrenaline still in him. "Just put jeans with fancy top and shoes." he commended Rukia, heading for the bedroom.

They both changed in separated rooms, of course. After dressing correctly, Ichigo grabbed his wallet and quickly took the apartment's keys as Rukia got out of the bathroom. They didn't even exchange one single look and headed precipitately for the exit.

They were, however, nicely dressed: Ichigo had a classy pair of jeans with a simple but beautiful black shirt with long sleeves. He looked handsome, as usual. Almost everything fitted him perfectly.

As for Rukia, she had skinny black jeans with a red fancy top. It was wrapped to the back of her neck and was slightly low-necked in the front. To complete, she had small black high heels just as Ichigo told her to wear. Luckily they had got those the other day. Rukia absolutely wanted them because she secretly had saw a bunny drew in the inside of the shoe.

As they were practically running towards the club, Ichigo talked. "He is still surrounded by people? You're sure he's not in danger?"

Rukia checked the screen on nodded. "He's safe. For now."

A few minutes later, the sun was completely down and a big neon was illuminating a crowd of people, waiting their turn to get inside the place. _Forever Midnight_.

"We are here." Rukia said as she hid the soul pager again in her purse. "Night Club mission… You ready?"

Ichigo looked directly into the violet iris for the first time today. He nodded. "Show time."

**PLEASE REVIEW! It means a lot to me to read those and encourages a lot too! **


	6. What happened last night?

**Hey people! I'm SOOOO SORRYYYYYY I didn't uptade sooner, I hope you can forgive me, school won't give me a second to breathe under that fuckin pile of work,, argggh! Anyway, I really hope you enjoy this new chap! **

**Disclaimer: I do not (and will never) own Bleach.**

Together Alone

Chapter 6: What happened last night…?

The line to enter Forever Midnight was quite long. The guards had already turned a kid who was hopelessly trying to get in. Finally, a few minutes later, it was Rukia and Ichigo's turn.

"You can go," said the man after analyzing Ichigo up and down.

The orange-head was about to enter, Rukia right behind him, when the guard stopped them with his muscular arm.

"Wait. You're actually telling me _she_'s 21?" he coldly said, looking down at the midget.

Rukia frowned and scowled deeply. 'Great, another jerk who thinks I'm a kid. I'm over eighty years of life dammit!'

On the other side, Ichigo had a hard time controlling his laugh.

Biting the inside of his cheek not to laugh, he took out Rukia's –fake- ID and showed it to the black man.

"Mm…." said the big guy with a frown. "Ok, you can go."

Ichigo was about to finally enter when he heard Rukia's voice behind. "Excuse me, sir, but why 21 years old?"

Ichigo almost hit his forehead with his hand. The man was already suspicious about them, no need to make it even worse!

"This is the minimum age to be drinking in U.S.A. Learn more about the country before you move in, young lady," responded the guard harshly.

Rukia blinked a few times before Ichigo quickly grabbed her wrist and brought her inside the club.

'I knew it,' thought Ichigo. 'Again with Urahara's stupid arrangement.'

In the nightclub, the music was extremely loud. It was dark except the bar and dance floor where red, green and purple lights were ricocheted every where. The place was already full of people. Certain were dancing to the rhythm of the music while others were sitting on couches or chairs, talking, kissing, laughing, drinking… It was a real nightclub.

Ichigo never liked these kinds of places. He wasn't thrilled to be here, even if it was for a mission. Keigo had tried for the past year to drag him along with their fake ID, but he never thought, really _never_, he would enter one under the required age, Kuchiki Rukia right next to him.

"So," started Ichigo. "Who's the guy again?"

Rukia took her soul pager out of her purse. Luckily it looked like a normal cell phone or it would have been impossible to take it out.

"A young man. He is 23, blond hair. His name is Jeffrey Fox. He's-"

Rukia was cut by another _beep. _The music covered it mostly, loud enough so the two shinigamis could hear it. Rukia immediately checked, her eyebrows making one thin line above her eyes as she analyze what was happening.

"What's wrong?" asked Ichigo. He just hated to wait for her answer.

"There's someone else here. I mean, other than Fox and the enemy. It's another person. He…" She pressed buttons on her 'phone'. "He wasn't here when Soul Society took their data, so we don't know anything about him… Or _her_. But there is someone else with high reiatsu, now. And here."

Ichigo couldn't do anything else than to listen and look at Rukia. What more could he do? Save the Jeffrey guy? Can't, too risky. Stop the enemy? Can't, too imprudent. At least that's what Soul Society said. He absolutely hated it.

Ichigo growled in frustration as someone bumped into him. It was a black-haired man, dressed up in dark colors. He didn't stop to apologize and continued his way to the bar counter.

But something stopped Ichigo from yelling at the man: a sensation. When they came in contact, he felt a…vibe. It ran from the guy and into Ichigo's pure source. It was incomprehensible for a simple human. It was powerful, unique. It was reiatsu.

Ichigo suddenly widened his eyes. "Rukia!" he took the small woman by the arm. "That guy, who just hit me, he has high spiritual pressure. I felt it."

He stared at her as she concentrated and fought back a frown. He hated to be useless in times like this. 'I'm gonna have to get better at this sensing reiatsu thing…' he reminded himself for later.

Rukia looked back at him and nodded. "It's him," she affirmed. "We got to check on both now so, let's just find this Jeffrey Fox."

Because of Rukia's shortness, Ichigo led the way through the crowd of dancing people, his partner right behind.

Once they reached a decent place to continue their talking, Ichigo elbowed Rukia slightly on her shoulder. "The person who bumped into me earlier is drinking at the counter," he advised. "Can you locate that…Fox boy?"

"I feel his spiritual pressure… It's coming from behind," said Rukia, turning around.

Ichigo followed her gaze and saw a curtain in the back of the club. They walked to it and looked up at the 'VIP' sign right above the entrance.

"Ichigo," said Rukia as she turned to him. "Does this means we can't enter?"

Ichigo shrugged. "Not sure, but that's not stopping me."

With that, he entered the dark place, Rukia still following.

He was surprised when nobody stopped them from going into the zone, but as soon as he noticed an intense smell planning in the room, he understood the club's real meaning of _VIP_.

'Drugs. Obviously,' realized Ichigo.

The two kept walking, deeper and deeper in the darkness. Until they found red spots, lighting up couple of couches, and approximately a dozen of person.

Most of them were either kissing or making out, either dozing off loosely. Couples of empty syringes and suspicious white powder were abandoned on the small table of glass in the middle.

Rukia glanced at Ichigo. The girl didn't quite understand what was going on in there, but she decided to leave it to Ichigo. The young man was frowning, looking over all the strange people.

Rukia jumped slightly when someone got up and walked to them. "Hey… You guys want to fly to could 9 with us... ?" the guy asked in an extremely slow voice that told Ichigo he was far gone.

Rukia felt Ichigo's arm extend in front of her, almost…protectively as the weird person got closer to them, revealing his face.

"No. Just get back on you couch. We don't want any of your crap," harshly responded Ichigo.

The man put both his hands in front of him. "Woaah… geez, relax man. Just trying to…be nice here," he spoke with the same lost voice.

As the dude got back to his comfy seat, Ichigo turned to Rukia and saw that she had her eyes widen.

"What's wrong," he asked her.

Rukia looked back at him and dragged him away from the group.

"Didn't you notice it? It was Fox!"

It was Ichigo's turn to widen his eyes. It was true, now that he thought about it: the hair, the look, the age… It was him for sure.

"Great, now we got a junkie to protect," grumbled Ichigo.

"A what?" asked Rukia, confused.

Kurosaki shook his head. "Never mind."

Suddenly, Rukia tensed next to him. Ichigo was about to ask her what was wrong when he felt something.

_He was there._

The two shinigamis exchanged a look and nodded their heads in agreement.

They walked out of the weird place and got back in the animated, noisy club.

A shocking view appeared to them when they saw their other target, talking to someone else. Someone, dressed in black, with a hood.

A black hood… _Him._

"He is talking to that man!" Rukia exclaimed, turning her back to the enemy.

Ichigo swallowed hard, anger growing inside him as he stared at the hooded man. He couldn't see his face, but he was able to notice the reiatsu guy's expression. And he seemed…mad. Really mad, and hurt.

"Ichigo!" screamed Rukia to bring his attention, hitting his stomach slightly with her tiny fist.

"Sorry," apologized Ichigo as he blinked.

The young man thought for a second before speaking. "We'll just stay here and if the enemy drags someone outside… We'll interfere."

Rukia didn't respond but you could tell she was worried by the look in her eyes.

Minutes passed. Ichigo and Rukia were sitting, somewhere in the club not too far from the VIP room or the bar. An hour passed, and the man with high reiatsu left the nightclub. But surprisingly, the killer did not. He stood at the counter, only sitting alone.

Another 30 minutes passed when someone got out of the VIP zone. _Jeffrey Fox_. He was heading for the bar, a huge smile on his face. The killer slowly and darkly turned his head toward his prey. Rukia immediately advised Ichigo with a panicking voice.

"Ichigo! He's going right in the lion's grip, we have to do something!"

Ichigo stood up from his seat and rapidly walked to Fox. This was one of those times where your brain only catches the very first idea that crosses your mind. It isn't always the best of the plans.

"Hey man! Sorry 'bout earlier…" started the orange-haired too much fake-enthusiastic as he stepped in front of Fox.

The guy immediately laughed. "Man, don't worry 'bout it! Hey you and your girl come with me! We'll have a drink!"

"Huh…Okay," responded Ichigo with an unsure fake smile.

But Jeffrey didn't notice. He was probably too dopey so he dragged them to the bar, a huge expression of total fun printed on his face.

Rukia was without words. What was Ichigo doing? She didn't really know, but one thing was sure: it was working.

Ichigo turned for a second, sending her a glare that says something like 'S_hit'_ or '_Help'_. Rukia sighed desperately.

Fox ordered several drinks and gave them to both Japanese. "Here you go!" exclaimed the blond man happily. "Welcome to _Forever Midnight_, my new friends!"

He raised his small glass full of strong liquid and yelled, "TO FRIENDSHIP! AND TO FUN!" Three _cling _were heard when the glasses made contact.

'God help me,' thought Ichigo as alcohol made its way down his throat.

I I I I

A headache. A hard, painful, master headache. That's the only thing Ichigo Kurosaki felt as he woke up slowly, the sun heating his bare arm through the window.

Groaning, he rubbed his forehead with the palm of his hand, painfully opening his hazel eyes.

The first thing he noticed was that he was in the apartment. Only, it was upside down. It took him a few moments to understand _he_ was upside down, his legs on the bed and his arms and head resting on the floor.

Ichigo got up from the mattress –or the floor- and growled, stretching his numb members with difficulty.

He then searched for Rukia, finding her in her own bed, all mixed up in the covers.

"Rukia…" he whined not too loudly as he yawned, pressing on the girl's back with his fingers. "Wake up…"

Rukia let out a discontent sound and started to move slowly. After a couple of seconds, her eyes were half open, her butt sitting on the comfortable surface and her hands rubbing desperately her forehead.

"Wha… What happened?" she spoke as her loud voice filled her head intensely in a ringing. "What's with that damn knocking in my head…"

Ichigo, who didn't had the strength to stay on his feet any longer, sat next to Rukia heavily. "I think we have a hangover," he said with an exhausted voice.

Rukia groaned. "A hangover? So we were…drunk?"

Ichigo nodded. "I still got the alcohol breath… God, I can't even remember what happened last night." Rukia approved with a nod. "The only thing that comes into my mind is laughing. Oh and a song."

"Me too, strangely," said Rukia before she abruptly realized something, the shock on her face as her eyes grew bigger. "Wait. If we were drunk, what happened to Fox and the other target?!" she almost screamed in panic.

She immediately jumped off the bed and ran to her soul pager, pressing millions of buttons almost faster than the wind.

Ichigo's heart stopped beating as Rukia made her research. If someone died last night, it was over. Everything. An innocent life, the mission, their honour, his life… It would all be reduced into dust.

Ichigo got kicked out of his thoughts when Rukia made a giant sigh, full of relief. "It's okay. They are all alive. And the enemy is gone, well, for now…"

She sat back on the bed next to Ichigo and hit the mattress. "Damn it. We were too irresponsible. Anyone could have easily died while we were drinking our ass off! It was a disrespectable behaviour, we far crossed the line."

Ichigo kept silent. He didn't exactly know what to say. She was right. They were too irresponsible last night. Someone could have actually died! And it would be his fault. He passed so close to not be able to protect them… He would make sure it doesn't happen ever again.

"I knew I didn't deserve that kind of mission…" Ichigo hear Rukia said in a heavy voice.

The orange-haired looked at her. "Rukia, don't say that. You are stronger and smarter than most shinigami. You deserve this post and this mission. It was my idea to go drinking with Fox. I'm the one to blame for this."

Rukia opened her mouth to reply when her violet eyes caught something behind Ichigo. It was a small object, resting on the top of the desk.

"What's that?" asked the young woman, pointing the unknown thing.

Ichigo turned around to see a video camera on top of the drawers. He walked to it and Rukia joined him, looking at the strange machine now in Ichigo's hands. "It's a video camera," responded Ichigo. "We must've bought it last night… Hey, there's a record. Maybe we'll see what happened last night when we were on another planet."

"It…conserves what we do?" asked Rukia, incredulous. "How can it do that?"

Ichigo sighed. Sometimes he forgot how little Rukia knew about human technology. "I'll show you."

With that, he bought Rukia along with him on her bed and pressed the 'play' button. Rukia jumped slightly as images of her and Ichigo appeared on the screen.

"_What's this stuff Ichiiiiiii?" yelled Rukia with a happy expression on her face. _

"_Just speak, you'll see!" responded the male shinigami._

_Rukia's cheeks were red from the alcohol and her lips curved into a large smile. "Okay! Hey we're going back to that night club now! I want to dance!"_

Kurosaki gulped as Kuchiki's eyes were large, both staring at the passing images.

We could see Rukia at the nightclub, standing next to the DJ's spot.

"_Hey you, music man! Can you do a special request?"_

"_Sure, what's your muz?" said the man with hundreds of piercing, a hand on his earphones. Rukia got closer to him and whispered something to the weirdo. The guy laughed. "Whatever you want, sweetheart."_

Ichigo gritted his teeth silently. _He_ _choose the right song on his electronic gadget; Movin, by Takacha._ _The music started with a high beat, before the lyrics was heard across the club, getting everyone's attention._

_Maketakunai shi!  
Nakitakunai shi!  
Warattetai kara!  
Movin! Movin!_

_Rukia screamed happily to the music and every dancer on the floor made the same. "PARTY!" yelled the raven-haired girl as she started dancing intensely along with the others._

Rukia's cheeks were redder by the second. She couldn't believe herself for doing such a stupid thing! She was on a mission for God's sake!

"_Movin! Movin!" sang loudly the drunk Rukia and Ichigo. _

It was mostly partying and –embarrassing- dancing for several minutes and Ichigo couldn't stand it anymore.

"I can't watch this any longer. I'm gonna take a shower, I stink," said the teenage as he gave the camera to Rukia. But the lieutenant knew she needed to…check something. She felt it, oddly.

"Wait Ichigo! Hum, can…can you do _fast play_ on this thing?"

The boy narrowed his eyes at her and responded, "Yeah, it's this button." He pointed to right arrow. "Why?"

"Oh, nothing."

Ichigo looked at her suspiciously before closing the bathroom's door, "Okay…"

Rukia got back on the video as the water was running in the other room. She pressed the _fast play_ button and waited until the 'party' was over and another scenery was playing. She pressed _play._

The camera has been put on the desk by Ichigo, and you could now see the young man, sleeping, sometimes even snoring, on his bed and Rukia, rolling on hers.

"_Hahaha, this is fun…" the girl on the tape laughed quietly at her own little game. "Hey Ichigo, you're awake?"_

_But the only response was silence. Rukia lifted her small head and rose slowly from the furniture. Her expression was no longer happy, she seemed…thoughtful. She got closer to the boy's bed and rested her forearms on the edge, staring at Ichigo's sleeping form._

"_Ichigo… Do you hear me?" _

Again, silence. The shinigami was really asleep.

"_There's…something I wanted to tell you. But I never got the chance to- no, that's no true. I never got the guts to tell you… Since the Fullbring thing." She took a deep breath. "Hum, I know I'm not the perfect woman figure. You know, a woman is supposed to be…nice, kind and emotional. Kind of like Inoue, but I can't be those thing around you. And I don't know why dammit! Why am I always so…rough and mean with you? I guess it's to bury my real emotions because, what I wanted to tell you is that… I missed you, Ichigo. More than you'll ever know. And I hate myself for not being able to just say it to you because it's the truth. And, I never apologized for leaving you these 17 months… I thought it was for the best, you could live your human life now. But, somehow I still felt like I abandoned you, and I'm so, so sorry for it Ichigo…" her voice broke at the end and her head fell down a little. After a few seconds, she lifted it again, her eyes shining. "I hope you can forgive me someday because… I need you Ichigo. I just can't do it without you anymore… I'm sorry…" _

_Rukia passed the back of her finger tenderly on Ichigo's cheek and brought her face closer, until her lips, replacing the touch of her finger, gave his cheek a delicate kiss._

"_Goodnight, Ichigo."_

Rukia stood frozen as the raven-haired drunk girl on the tape got back to her own bed and drifted asleep. The lieutenant pressed _pause_ on the machine. She still couldn't believe what she had said on that video. What she had revealed. It was something so…buried inside her that it was hard to hear it, like that, like everything was fine. But it wasn't _fine_. Rukia didn't know how she felt anymore… And what if Ichigo saw that? It would be the end of the world.

Rukia forced herself to jump out of her trance and searched several minutes until she found how to delete the damn record.

Why had she said all of that last night anyways? Oh that's right, the alcohol. At that moment, she swear she'd never touch a single gout of this liquid again. Hell, she even kissed Ichigo on the cheek! It had to be the alcohol! It just couldn't be…her own feelings, is it?

Rukia jumped when the bathroom door opened, a half wet Ichigo getting out of the steamy room. "So, what else is on the tape?" asked the boy, looking for a simple t-shirt to wear today.

Rukia coughed silently and turned her eyes away from Ichigo's bare, muscular back. "Oh hum, nothing important… Just other crap of dancing and all…"

"God," said Ichigo as he put a gray t-shirt. "Please erase that thing before I throw it outside the window."

"Done," responded Rukia, heading for the kitchen to get some water, or at least that's the excuse she will tell herself.

It just had to be the alcohol… It couldn't be…her own feelings, right?

**Fiew, done! I'm feeling kind of…depressed lately, I hope you still liked it. Please review! |Death and Berry|**


	7. Of burning eggs and Shinigamis

**Hello dear readers! I'm extremely sorry I didn't uptade for months O.O ... I'm horrible. Too much has been going on and, well, time and will was missing. Anyway, thank you for keeping following this story and I hope you'll like this brand new and fresh chapter! **

Together Alone

Chapter 7: Of burning eggs and Shinigamis

"Goodmorning to all, it is now the 9th of July and heat sure is at its best! Though we are expecting rain in the weeks to come, enjoy another sunny day in New York City, and stay tuned!"

A very sleepy and orange head man woke up from his peace when the voice on the radio made its way from the living room and into the male's ears.

Ichigo Kurosaki let out a deep groan, hating to be woke up by that damn 'Mike Cravost', the official morning announcer of this noisy city. It was now the second morning in a row his small female partner was turning the machine on, and carrot-top didn't think he could take another of these wake up call.

"Rukia..." the boy whined against his pillow, "turn off this damn thing!"

But of course, that wasn't going to make it. Ichigo decided to close his eyes and try to ignore the crappy music when an extremely loud and shrill noise invaded the apartment.

"Ahhhh!"

Not thinking for a second, the winter war hero immediately jumped from his bed and ran to the kitchen, right where Rukia's scream came from.

He was prepared for the worst, adrenaline burning in his veins until his hazel eyes analyzed the situation completely.

Ichigo took the stole on the oven and, as fast as lightning, turned on the cold water and threw the burning object under the fountain. A deloge of smoke went strait all around the place as Ichigo quickly took a rag and flipped in the the air, right under the fire alarm.

He moved it non stop until the damn strident machine stopped screaming and making the boy's ears bleeding from pain.

Ichigo finally brought his arm down and breathed a few deep times, resting against the counter. His eyes were seeing some dark spots while Rukia kept coughing next to him.

Once his vision and heart got better, Ichigo turned to the girl.

"What the hell were you doing?!"

Rukia narrowed her tiny dark eyebrows, looking away in...shame, maybe.

"Well, I was hungry and you weren't up, as always, you lazy ass!" Ichigo was almost burning in fury but Rukia continued nonetheless "So I decided to make myself an egg, I saw Yuzu do it and it seemed pretty easy!"

Ichigo had to take a deep breath to control his anger. Being waking up in extrem panic sure as hell wasn't doing it for him.

"Couldn't you wait? If you're trying to be more patient then, it's certainly not a success!" yelled the young Kurosaki.

Rukia's face turned red, shame all gone and replaced by a new madness. "What the hell are you talking about! And no, I couldn't wait much longer or I would actually have DIED FROM HUNGER! You jerk sleep until 12 and I wasn't going to eat breakfast at LUNCH! Plus, it's not my fault the damn thing caught on fire!"

Ichigo chuckled, "Yeah, of course, because it's the eggs fault for cooking too much?!" he screamed sarcastically.

"The hell I know?!" shot back Rukia "Your sister let it 20 minutes on, just like I did!"

Ichigo hit his forehead in total discouragement. "It's because she made MORE THAN ONE DAMN EGG! One egg alone is 5 minutes maximum!"

"..." Rukia kept quiet for about one second. "Well whatever! It's still your fault for staying in your bed all morning!"

"Damn it Rukia! It's only 8 o'clock!"

Suddenly, a loud knock on the door interrupted the animated argument, and the two heroes turned their heads to the door as a worried voice was heard on the other side: "Hum... Are you okay here? We heard a lot of noise downstairs..?"

Ichigo and Rukia looked at each other and realized their bodies were almost touching, just like everytime they were 'fighting'. Rukia immediately stepped back and almost ran to the bedroom, slamming the door loudly.

Ichigo stood there for a moment, then sighed angrily and walked to the door.

"Mm, yeah, everything is alright. Sorry Mr..." Once again, the substitute shinigami had a hard time remembering someone's name.

"Mavena." answered Pedro, a small and unsure smile forming on his tan face.

"Yes, Mr. Mavena. I'm sorry for the noise, my...friend forgot something on the fire, and the alarm went off."

Pedro's brown eyes and mouth all formed an 'O' shape, showing his new understanding. "Oh! I see, well then I won't disturb you any longer, you can always tell me if there's something you need, I'm downstairs most of the time."

Ichigo forced a smile and nodded. "Thank you."

Once the man was gone and the door locked again, Ichigo got to the small window right above the sink, and opened it so the smoke will go. He then walked to the bedroom's door and knocked on the wooded surface.

"Rukia? Is it okay if I come in?"

The only answer he got was silence. Ichigo did his best not to get mad again, and waited a bit.

It had been three days now. Three days since the 'murderer' showed up at the club. Three days without any new activity. Three days since they got...beuh, drunk.

And, one thing Ichigo had noticed was that Rukia was obviously annoying as always, but she surely wasn't acting normally.

Her behaviour was just...weird, since _that_ night. She would constantly wear a thoughtful face, she almost wasn't talking to him and, it seemed like she was trying to...avoid him.

Ichigo sighed as he knocked again, this time less hard. "Rukia? I'm coming in."

A few seconds later, Ichigo turned the doorknob and pushed the door, peeking a look inside the room.

The black-haired lady was sitting on her bed, her back facing Ichigo. "Rukia...?" the boy called way nicer than before.

Rukia turned her head and stared at Ichigo for a small moment. Her eyes seemed to burn his soul down with worry. It was so strange...

"What do you want Ichigo?"

Ichigo entered the room completely and sat on his bed, facing Rukia enterely. He sighed "Look, I don't know what is bothering you lately, but you haven't been yourself." He didin't see Rukia jumping slightly at his statement. "So, just tell me what's wrong... Maybe I can help you."

'So he noticed I've been...distant?' thought Rukia. She sure as hell couldn't talk to him about it. She wouldn't even admit to herself why she was acting like that, so to say it out loud? Impossible. Plus, she was on a mission. She had to take hold of herself, she wasn't a fragile little girl, she was strong. A strong Kuchiki. It was time to show it, and devote her thoughts and energy in this mission. They had made enough mistakes already, and Rukia wouldn't let any other crap and useless stuff get in the way of her duty anymore.

"Hm, I apologize for my rude behaviour. I was just worried about our fault, you know, that night. I shouldn't let that happen and I felt...bad about it. It's surely an error Soul Society wouldn't approve of," Rukia told Ichigo, ignoring the fact that she was half lying to him and to herself.

Ichigo blinked a couple of times. He was surprised at the hardness in Rukia's tone and words... _That_... It wasn't her either.

Kurosaki sighed. Maybe if he'd let her some time, Rukia would come back to her normal self... The Rukia he lo... 'Wait, what...?' The Rukia he _knew_. Yes.

"Well, anyway," said Ichigo, scratching the back of his head and looking outside the window. "What do you say if I get dressed and then we go eat breakfast?"

Rukia looked at him with shining eyes. Her mouth was about to cruve in a giant smile, but she got it before loosing. A simple and reserved smile appeared on her face. "Alright," she accepted and nodded her head slowly.

I I I I

Time passed by very quickly. It was now around 5 pm, and Ichigo and Rukia were calmly walking in a small park, discovering more and more of New York City every hour they spend out.

Rukia had her pager, both their _Abusoba _(specially made by Urahara Kisuke himself) sticked on their hips... They were all prepared.

But nothing was happening.

Ichigo didn't know if he should be happy or mad about it, if it was a good thing or not. At the present time, the only objective on his mind was from a whole other level: make Rukia Kuchiki laugh again.

Now that he had think about it, she hasn't laugh since that damn night. Where of course, they were drunk. Which, in Ichigo's mind, didn't count. So, basically, he didn't remembered the last time she laughed. A _true_ laugh.

There he was, walking by the female Kuchiki's side, thinking his head out to come up with something that would make her laugh.

"Hey, Rukia," spoke the berry. "You remember when we first met, how you draw a moustache on my face with a permanent black pen, right after you tied me up with your kido?"

Rukia raised her look from her feet to stare at him, interrogation in her eyes. "You still remember that?" she asked him.

Ichigo smiled slightly at her. "Of course I do."

Rukia soon let a smile appear on her own lips, her eyes getting back to the ground. "Seems like a thousand years ago..." she said almost with nostalgia.

Ichigo staired at her thoughtful face. Well, she didn't laugh but a smile was better than nothing... The boy sighed. His goal would be more complex than he thought it would be.

Even if it was the evening, it was still incredibly hot outside. Ichigo saw an ice cream little shop on his right and immediately reacted.

"Hey you want some ice cream?" he asked Rukia, picking his wallet.

"Hum, yeah, sure," she responded, though less happily than Ichigo thought she'd be. Damn.

He got to the tiny blue counter and ordered: "Hello, we'll take one big chocolate flavored ice cream, and a medium vanilla and strawberry one, please."

Rukia secretly looked up at her partner. 'How can he have the hardest time remembering people's names, but he never forget little useless details like that?'

Rukia was in her thoughts as Ichigo paid the 10 dollars, and got back to reality when he handed her her favorite ice cream.

"Thanks..."

They continued walking along a rocky road, silently licking their own ice creams.

'Mmm, finally some cold,' thought Ichigo in deep satisfaction.

Just then, Rukia's left foot collided with a giant rock on the ground, which she hadn't see because she was far too busy devouring her ice cream.

The young woman widened her eyes but it was too late, she would certainly fall on the ground. She just had time to close her amethyst pools tightly, and waited for the impact. Though it came not as hard as she thought it would. She didn't felt any pain. After a couple of seconds, Rukia opened her eyes again, only to see she _was_ on the ground, just not _directly _on it. Effectively, something, or someone, was under her, and it, or he, had his arms around Rukia's perfect frame, like she was made of porcelain or something. Rukia turned her head to see Ichigo, his face showing the pain he got from falling on the hard surface.

Still, his first words were: "Are you alright?"

A blush made its way pretty easily on Rukia's cheeks, and she was about to shove his hands away when she noticed something. Their ice creams had fall off their hands, but it wasn't on the floor. The freezed food had gone precisely...right on Ichigo's face and shirt.

Rukia, blinking a few times as Ichigo noticed the substence on his chest, then started to laugh. A real laugh. An uncotrollable laugh. A laugh that makes you laugh so hard your stomach starts to hurt and you're just clapping your hands together, or on your mouth to stop it. But it never stops. It's just too damn funny.

Ichigo narrowed his eyebrows at the cold treat staining his face and his t-shirt. But as he heard Rukia's laugh, so perfect and unique, he couldn't help but smile from ear to ear.

Rukia was now at the point of wiping tears. She hasn't laugh this hard since...well, in a very very long time. And she had to say, it was...nice.

"HAHAHAHA! YOU... YOU- HAHAHAHA!" It couldn't be help. The woman couldn't even talk for Christ sakes! Rukia continued to laugh like crazy at Ichigo's now pink, white and brown stained shirt, while he was trying to clean his chin the best he could.

People were starting to look at them, probably because of the noises coming out of Rukia's mouth. So, still slightly smiling, Ichigo proposed they walk back home, where he could clean up properly. Rukia nodded, still loudly laughing at her friend.

On their way back to the apartment, Rukia's laugh decreased a little (luckily) but that huge smile wouldn't go away now. That smile showed joy, and seeing her happy made Ichigo happy himself.

They got back in the small place now called 'home', and Ichigo immediately headed for a good shower while Rukia decided to watch some TV.

A couple of minutes passed until Ichigo got out of the bathroom, looking for new clothes to wear.

Rukia was about yell at him that he was missing a Chappy show playing right now when her pager rang loudly. The girl tensed for a second, thinking it was the 'murderer' alarm, but then she realized the noise wasn't the same. _That_, was someone calling her.

She put on a serious face before answering her 'phone'. "Yes?"

Her muscles relaxed all at the same time when she heard that too-fake-happy voice on the line.

"Well helloooo Rukia-chan!"

Rukia rolled her eyes and yelled, keeping the phone away, "Ichigo! Come here Urahara is on the phone!"

"Really? What does he want?"

Rukia got her phone back to her ear and spoke, "What do you want Urahara?"

"Oh my, was I disturbing some love session with you two? You don't seem so happy by my call..."

Rukia had to fight a blush again. 'Damn it, what is it with me always blushing now? I never been like that!'

"What?! Not at all! Ichigo's just asking," responded the Kuchiki, not so sure with her answer.

A weird laugh came to her ear. "I see... Well to answer Ichigo's question my dear, I'm calling for Soul Society. People up there want to know where you two are at so far."

Rukia gulped as Ichigo came out of the room, his hair still a bit wet. "So, what does he want?" he repeated.

"Just...calling for Soul Society. They want to know where we are at this point," Rukia told her friend.

"Oh..."

Rukia put the phone between her ear and Ichigo's before responding to Urahara.

"Hum, well, it's doing...fine, I guess. Our target showed up two times," she took a more serious voice, "and we were able to save _his _targets both times."

"Mhm... Well good job kiddos! And you are sure he didn't suspect you or anything?"

"No, I think your invention, the _Abusoba_, worked."

"Pfft, what a strange thing to say, of course it works!"

Ichigo rolled his eyes when Urahara spoke again, "Anything else to report?"

Both partners looked at each other with widened eyes, just as Ichigo shook his head in disapproval. Rukia bit her bottom lip.

"Hum, no nothing else important to report."

Ichigo let out an inaudible sigh of relief. If something sure wouldn't help at all, it would be telling Soul Society they got drunk during the mission. Though it was to save an innocent, Ichigo was pretty sure it would only cause problems. Not only to him, but to Rukia also.

"Alrighty! Well then I'll be calling you two in a few days for the same purpose. Good luck!"

With those final words, Urahara hung up his phone, leaving Ichigo and Rukia silent.

Neither wanted to talk, not knowing exactly what to say, or how to say it... So they both sat on the couch as Rukia simply turned her Chappy show on, making Ichigo growl.

"Stop whining and just shut up!" retorted Rukia, her mind totally stick to Chappy's words.

Ichigo looked at her, her beautiful shining violet orbs and her delicate (though devilish) smile... She seemed normal. He got her laughing... Even if he ridiculed himself in public, her joy was the only thing that mattered right now...

Ichigo turned back to the TV, and even if he had to watch that ridiculous Chappy show, it was all worth it in the end.

I I I I

The man pushed the door of the bar and got out, in the dark streets of New York. Maybe he had too much to drink, but eh, whatever. His life sucked anyways.

Jenkins slowly walked to his building, searching for the apartment keys in his right pocket. Now in a hallway, he continued his way until he saw it. 1033. His apartment.

Turning the key in the lock, he opened the door and walked in. The place was a mess, as always. It was so dark and filled with dust... New York at night certainly was more lighted than this hole. Jenkins got to his fridge, and after staring at a beer for a few seconds, he finally took it.

Once he got the bottle open, he took a sip. Then two. Next was his usual sitting on the couch while drinking. Jenkins was making his way to the old furniture when something stopped him. The bathroom door was open. It was never open. He didn't even remember the last time he took a shower... Something was wrong.

It took him some time to understand because of the alcohol in his system, but he knew. He just sensed it. _He_, was here.

Like the other man had read his mind, he slowly got out of his hiding spot and faced Jenkins, a powerful smile on his face, his dark eyes throwing arrows.

"A bit early to be drinking, don't you think?" said the man, glancing at the clock displaying 3:58 am.

"What are you doing here, I thought I made myself pretty clear when we talked at that club the other night," retorted Jenkins.

The man took a step foward, his smile widening as he took off his black hood.

"Now Benjamin... Is that a proper way to welcome your beloved brother?"

I I I I

**7th chapter... DONE! I'm so getting back into it, and I gotta say, pretty excited about the story! I hope you guys liked it and please review! I could really use some good words right now... **


	8. Bark Bark

**Holy christ, I wanted to publish this a long time ago, sorry all :x.. I just want to say (ya, again) thank you to all of you followers who are still with me, you are amazing! 99 followers...OH MY GOD! The story really is starting to get interesting now, so enjoy this 8th chapter! **

**[ANSWER FOR GUEST M. ATROCIOUS : I don't know if you still keep up with the story to read this, but I have something to clear out. What you said of the fact that Ichigo can love Rukia, but that her being in love with him the same way isn't right. Well, I see your point here, but I don't know if we see it the same way. In my opinion, Rukia is already in love with Ichigo. She doesn't realize it, and she sure as hell don't want to admit it. I think that, even if Rukia is really a strong and independent character that you wouldn't expect to fall in love with someone, she is still a woman. And falling in love with Ichigo wasn't part of her 'plan', but you can't control that you know. So, yes I know, in the third chapter, Rukia opens up a lot, but these thoughts she doesn't even realize or understand them yet. **

**I'm glad you like my story, and thank you for reading, but if you're not okay with the way I put it in the end, maybe you should stop reading, because I can take a lot of advice, but I will not change radically important part of the story. I hope you understand.]**

**Sorry guys if there's grammar mistakes or typos... Too lazy too read for the 4th time **

Together Alone

Chapter 8: Bark Bark

"Run you idiot!"

Ichigo only had the time to widened his eyes as he saw two gigantic dogs running at them, their barking loud and angry and their teeth ready to shred some flesh. As he heard Rukia yell and took a second to realize they couldn't shunpo their asses out of there, he started running as fast as he could, the monsters of the day getting closer and closer while their master tried to calm them. Without any success.

A few minutes of running later, Ichigo's legs were a bit burning, and even if he could continue, he wasn't in his shinigami form and he was getting slower by the second.

"Rukia! We- have to- find a way...out of this shit!"

But no response came.

"Ruki-" Ichigo turned his head to his right, where Rukia was running by his side a few seconds earlier, and saw...no one.

'What the hell?!' he yelled in his head, widening his eyes as he catched something, or someone, who was climbing a pole, right behind him.

'That bitch!'

"Rukia!" Ichigo yelled in frustration at his so-called partner, still sending her lasers with his hazel eyes.

Just then, he only heard Rukia scream: "Ichigo! In front of-" before a loud _BAM_ resonated and an orange-haired fool fell on the hard concrete.

I I I I

"Ugh..."

"Ah! He's coming back with us! Mister! Mister are you alright?"

Ichigo Kurosaki tried to opened his eyes as he felt a sharp pain on his head, letting a groan out of his throat. The voice he just heard belonged to a man, so it sure as hell wasn't Rukia. Then who has just spoke right now?

Ichigo finally got one eye open to see Rukia and a...weird looking man above him. He was wearing a sport outfit and kind of looked like...his dad, though his hair were brown instead of black, he had a thick mustache, which gave him an even weirder appearance, and he was wearing glasses. Ichigo then looked at where he was... The ground, apparently. He was about to speak when something very wet and stinking hit his face.

"Oh will you look at that! Rufus feels bad for you! Good boy!"

Carrot-top growled as he wiped clean his chin, taking a look at the strange man.

"You know your dog wanted to kill me before," he said, a deeper scowl making its way on his face.

The man widened his eyes at Ichigo. "I'm sorry my dogs went after you and this nice lady," he said smiling at Rukia. "But they had no bad intentions! They are as soft as puppies!"

Ichigo growled, putting a hand on the floor to get up.

Rukia immediately reacted. "Ichigo, you're bleeding pretty badly you know."

Ichigo raised his hand at his forehead, and felt a greater pain shot through his skull.

"Oh my god!" The man yelled after seeing the red liquid. "You should go to the hospital! In fact we'll take you there!" he said as he took car keys out of his jacket.

Ichigo instantly tensed when Rukia spoke. "Oh no that's not necessery. I'll just take him to our apartment and heal his wound. I have some experience. But thank you anyway, mister," she said as she faked a smile.

Right after, she took Ichigo by his arm and started walking away, leaving the man and his two dogs with wide, puzzled eyes.

Onced they were far from the goat-face, Ichigo spoke. "What the hell happened anyway? I only saw you on that pole then-" his eyes widened and he growled in frustration at Rukia. "Thanks to you, by the way, for leaving me alone without any warning!"

Rukia only kicked him in the shin as a response, not even bothering to open her Kuchiki eyes. Ichigo bit the inside of his cheek not to yell, in anger and in pain, letting only a muffled sound out of his throat.

"I was trying to escape the damn thing, and obviously, I can think of better solutions than you. Then of course, you just had to charge into that steal pole, you orange-haired imbecile."

Ichigo felt a vein pop on his forehead, and forced himself to calm down before actually killing that midget. Plus, he was starting to feel a bit dizzy...

The boy sighed angrily. "Whatever... Let's just get to our place. Just so you know, I can't guarantee I'll get there on two feet," he mentioned, his view deforming again.

"Well I'm not carying your heavy ass so you better stay on your feet."

Ichigo looked at her for a second, then decided it was better not to reply to her insult right now. She was obviously in her 'Kuchiki mood', plus starting a fight wouldn't help his dizziness at all, so he kept his mouth shut, for once.

I I I I

"Would you stop whining damn it?"

Ichigo stared at his petite partner, frowning as she finished cleaning the blood on Ichigo's forehead.

The boy growled. "I can do that by myself! Why do you want to do it so damn much?" he threw back, scowling intensely too.

Rukia took another bandage and pressed it to the small wound of Ichigo's face. "Because apparently, you can't do anything correctly. So just shut up and let me handle it."

Young Kurosaki wanted to examine beyond her facial expression, but tightening his eyes like that hurt his head as hell so he abandonned again, and growled in irritation.

A few minutes later, the whole thing was bandaged correctly. Rukia pushed Ichigo by force to the living room, and on the couch. "Now sit and stop moving. And you better hope we don't get any alerts while you're an invalid."

Ichigo's vein had definitely exploded by now. "I am not a fucking inv-"

He didn't had time to finish that Rukia had thrown him a pillow, hushing up Ichigo's sentence.

When Ichigo took the puffy object away from his face, he saw Rukia examinating her soul pager with careful eyes.

"What are you doing?" he asked her, momentarily forgetting about his anger.

Rukia didn't left her gadget one second and answered in a concentrated voice. "I'm going through the high-reiatsu people data, it can be useful to be familiar with it before."

Ichigo scratched the back of his head. "Then I should study them too," he said more as an obvious thing than a question.

Rukia glanced at him. "Mm, I guess it could be good."

Ichigo only rolled his eyes and let his upper body rest on the couch when Rukia started saying names aloud, in a pretty neutral tone.

"Marcus Jones, 57 years old, owner of a famous reception room called '_Delusion'. _Physical description: white short hair, green eyes, 1,75 m, 73 kg."

Ichigo prevented her from continuing. "Man, the Seireitei sure took specific information..."

Rukia looked at him intensely. "You need to have precise information if you want a precise work."

Ichigo nodded. "Still, you have to admit it's...not clear at all."

"What is?" said Rukia as she turned her head to face him.

"This whole mission... I mean, just think about the high-reiatsu people, they're all so different... A 30 year old athletic woman, a drugged idiot and now an old, and probably rich, man... This doesn't make any sense."

Rukia turned to look at the wall, her eyes lost in reflection. Finally, she sighed. "I know. That's why we have to figure out this whole mess."

Ichigo stared at her, and the determination he just saw appearing in her violet globes. His own eyes finally softened a bit, and the edge of a smile made its way on his face. "Yeah... So, continue?"

Rukia nodded as she got back to her soul pager. "Paul Warlock, 39 years old, lives in the street..."

And Ichigo's growl was back.

I I I I

An hour later, Rukia sighed as she stretched her arms above her, then blinked a couple of times as she got back to her small screen.

"This is the last one I think," she said, waiting for a growl to continue.

But no sound came.

Rukia looked at her left, where Ichigo was lying on the couch. "Ichi-"

Her partner had no scowl on. He has a peaceful expression and his eyebrows were -for once- relaxed. His breathing was calm and regular and his eyes, closed under the brownish-orange eyelashes. His arm was under his head, making himself a pillow.

Rukia kept her gaze on him, a sudden new feeling taking place in her heart. Though she had felt...insecure, the days before, when she discovered the words she was saying in that tape...

'Screw it,' she thought silently. It was decided. What she had said that night, it wasn't her. She was drunk. No need to worry about it alone in a corner of her own self.

No, now she felt...at the right place. She had made the right choices, all along. It was meant to bring her here.

She didn't understand everything yet, but she knew one thing for sure.

She wasn't alone anymore.

At that realization, or thought, call it whatever you want, Rukia's pink lips broke into a small and perfect smile, revealing, just for a moment, her emotions to the cruel world.

But obviously Ichigo missed that, silently snoring instead.

Rukia closed her soul pager, got up from the couch to walk, slowly, toward a certain carrot-top.

She reached him, then sat back on the edge of the furniture, right next to Ichigo. Without knowing exactly what she was doing, the young woman's hand rose itself, until it met a sleeping face. Rukia passed her finger softly in the boy's strand of hair, her eyes glowing without anyone knowing it as she stared at him.

She got her hand a bit lower, until it reached Ichigo's cheek, and delicately brushed the back of her hand against his skin.

Ichigo, who was still deeply sleeping, let out a small moan, so weak Rukia almost missed it.

But she didn't.

At the - cute, you must say - sound, Rukia immediately withdrawn her tiny hand, closing it at the same time. Her eyes were slightly widened, and she stood still for a second of two, not even breathing, lest to see him waking up.

Minutes passed without anyone moving. Ichigo was still in dreamland, after all.

Rukia finally sighed, her eyes closing as the air went in and out of her body. She stood up, and, after giving Ichigo another look full of unknown emotions, walked out of the living room and headed to the bathroom.

I I I I

Anderson smiled mischievously as he touched the edge of his glasses, the object that had his entire life, the object who hold his reiatsu entirely, the object who made him who he was today. His smirk widened as he took his phone out of his jacket, ready to dial his boss' number.

'Man the boss 'will be fucking thrilled by this,' he thought as excitement went through him.

_Bark bark!_

He immediately stopped, his finger on the '8' button. Anderson turned around to see the two damn dogs running in front of him, when suddenly, the two transformed during their pace, leaving two women, both with short brown hair, curled in a ball on the ground. They both got up on their feet, walking to Anderson with angry expression on their faces.

"Anderson!" almost yelled the younger twin to the man holding a cell phone. "What the hell are you doing?"

The said man frowned, closing his mobile. "I'm calling the boss to tell him about our discovery. 'Got a problem with that?"

The females both growled as animals. "Yes, in fact, we do! No way you're gonna get all the benefits for finding those two shinigami! We helped you, you know!"

"Yeah and who would've been killed by those same soul reapers if I hadn't hide all your reiatsu?" He looked around, faking his questioning. "Oh, right. YOU TWO! Plus, I was the one to locate their spiritual energy; I deserve it."

The twins showed their teeth, all well sharpen. "Whatever! We'll tell the boss ourselves!"

"Nobody will tell the 'boss'," a neutral and low voice pronounced from behind.

Just before Anderson had time to move, the twins were on the floor and bleeding. Next thing he knew he was widening his eyes in horror as a sharp knife cut him throughout his stomach.

As his fell to his knees on the ground, he saw the dark shadow that was his killer walk to watch him slowly die.

"Wh- who...the f-uck...are- you..."

He didn't had the chance to hear the answer that he fell on the floor, breathing out his last breath.

The man stared at the bodies, almost cursing the mess he just made. Looking up at the sky, he spoke. "I'm Benjamin Jenkins. And you owe me big, shinigamis."

**DONE! Yay, another one :)) Please let me know what you guys think ! (p.s: sorry if the chapters are getting shorter :x, i wrote that in one day)**


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